Greg Sankey Sets Thursday Vote on Expelling LSU From SEC Amid Lane Kiffin NFL-Player Feud

The SEC’s power struggle with LSU has escalated into an all-out legal war, and now the conference is holding open the possibility of the unthinkable: kicking one of its own founding members out entirely. Commissioner Greg Sankey filed an amended federal complaint this week confirming that SEC presidents and chancellors have scheduled a special meeting for Thursday to consider terminating LSU’s membership in the conference, a stunning escalation of a monthslong feud sparked by coach Lane Kiffin’s push to roster former NFL players.

Sankey has spent more than two decades building the SEC into the most powerful conference in college sports, and this is arguably the most serious governance crisis the league has faced under his watch. The dispute traces back to late August, when Kiffin and LSU began pursuing former Ole Miss players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, both of whom had signed NFL contracts over the summer before being cut, hoping to add them to the Tigers’ roster for the 2026 season. The SEC’s presidents voted 15-0 to affirm rules barring former professional players from returning to college rosters, with LSU president Wade Rousse abstaining, and the conference has been fighting to enforce that rule in court ever since.

Inside the Court Filing That Raised the Stakes

According to the amended complaint filed in Alabama federal court, the SEC’s other 15 university presidents have informally told Sankey — and LSU system president Wade Rousse’s own boss has directed him — to formally notice a special meeting on Thursday to consider terminating LSU’s membership. The filing states that presidents expressed “great concern” that Rousse and LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry have “no meaningful control” over Kiffin or the football program, arguing the school has shown a “demonstrated lack of institutional control” at the university level.

The legal fight began in earnest when a Louisiana state court judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the SEC from penalizing LSU for playing Wright and Harris, prompting the conference to countersue in federal court, naming Rousse, Ausberry and Kiffin as defendants. The SEC argues the case is fundamentally about its First Amendment right as a voluntary association to govern its own competition rules, not about individual student-athlete eligibility. Sankey testified for more than two hours in a Baton Rouge courtroom defending the league’s authority, telling the court that “the line between professional sports and college sports needs to be maintained.” LSU ultimately chose not to roster Wright and Harris ahead of its season opener, but the school kept two roster spots open in case the legal picture changes, and Kiffin’s public comments since — including an on-air remark imagining what LSU could do “if we had pro players” — have only added fuel to the fire cited in the SEC’s latest filing.

What Happens Next for LSU and the Conference

Under SEC bylaws, expelling a member school requires a two-thirds vote of the conference’s chief executive officers, a high bar that most college football observers still view as unlikely to be cleared even with tensions this high. More probable outcomes range from a formal censure to financial penalties or the coaching suspensions the SEC previously threatened, though Thursday’s meeting keeps full removal squarely on the table as a formal agenda item for the first time. For fans tracking how this saga might ripple into LSU’s season and its standing in one of the sport’s marquee conferences, keeping an eye on sportsbooks in Louisiana offers a sense of how the betting market is reacting to the uncertainty surrounding the program.

Whatever the SEC decides Thursday, the fallout has already strained one of the conference’s oldest and most storied relationships. LSU joined the SEC as a founding member in 1932, and no school has ever been formally expelled from the conference in its history. Sankey’s filing makes clear the league sees this as a test case for its authority over all 16 member institutions, not just a dispute over two backup roster spots, and how presidents vote on Thursday could set precedent for how much autonomy any single program is allowed going forward.