SEC files lawsuit against LSU, Lane Kiffin over player eligibility

The SEC has filed a lawsuit against LSU and Lane Kiffin that asks for an injunction overruling a recent decision in a Louisiana court that allowed more than a dozen former college athletes to return to college despite concluding their eligibility this past season.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, the SEC lawsuit also names LSU President Wade Rouse and athletics director Verge Ausberry.

LSU and Kiffin have come under intense scrutiny after the latter welcomed into his program former athletes who had already participated in NFL training camps, including potentially key additions who played for Kiffin last season when he was the coach at Mississippi.

“Defendants waged a deliberate and coordinated campaign to recruit professional athletes to play football for LSU during the 2026-27 season, including players who had signed NFL contracts with the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” the SEC said in the suit.

On Aug. 19, a Louisiana judge issued a temporary restraining order allowing former athletes who had concluded four seasons of eligibility during the past academic year to return to the NCAA level following the organization’s recent implementation of a five-for-five eligibility rule.

That order…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/sports/