The Southeastern Conference (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Louisiana State University (LSU), its president Wade Rousse, athletic director Verge Ausberry, and head football coach Lane Kiffin. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, alleges a "deliberate and coordinated campaign" by LSU to recruit professional athletes, including players who had signed NFL contracts, to play for the university during the 2026-27 season.
The SEC claims that LSU and its named officials have expressed an "unequivocal intent to place those athletes on LSU’s official football roster and allow them to participate in football games during the upcoming season." This action, according to the conference, is in direct defiance of the SEC's rules regarding professionalism and is detrimental to the conference.
The lawsuit was filed as a separate legal battle unfolds regarding the eligibility of professional athletes seeking to return to college football. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was reportedly being questioned in court over NCAA eligibility for professional athletes at the time the lawsuit against LSU was docketed.
In a brief filed the day prior, the SEC stated that the current court case should focus on whether the conference can enforce its rules on member institutions. Sankey provided an affidavit indicating that SEC presidents had unanimously voted in favor of new rules barring professional athletes, with Rousse abstaining from the vote.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who also attended the hearing, argued in a separate brief that the NCAA's evolving rules have negatively impacted athletes, universities, and coaches. She described the situation for the athletes as a "classic bait-and-switch."
The SEC's lawsuit asserts that LSU's alleged efforts to roster professional athletes "threatens to cause further substantial harm if not curbed."