Southeastern Conference sues LSU, Lane Kiffin

The Southeastern Conference is suing Louisiana State University (LSU) and its head football coach Lane Kiffin for what it contends is an effort to bring former NFL players to the school and gain an unfair competitive advantage over other schools.

The LSU Tigers waged what the conference says is “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.”

“Numerous reports have shown that at least two of these professional athletes are on campus and actively practicing with LSU’s football team,” the conference wrote as part of its suit, filed in Alabama and assigned to U.S. District Judge Annemarie Axon, who was appointed by President Trump.

“Defendants have also expressed their unequivocal intent to place those athletes on LSU’s official football roster and allow them to participate in football games during the upcoming season,” the conference added.

The suit comes as a Louisiana judge was set to rule Thursday on a temporary injunction involving LSU’s football program that could clear the way for a number of players who were cut by NFL teams this fall to play for the Tigers this fall.

The Southeastern Conference has previously said it would consider sanctioning LSU over the effort to recruit former professional players, floating options that included potentially expelling it from the conference.

It also comes as Congress works to pass legislation that would grant the NCAA and its member schools antitrust protection and cap the amount of times an athlete can transfer between schools and earn through name, image and likeness endorsement money.

The conference has endorsed the Senate’s Protect College Sports Act .

LSU’s first game is Saturday at home against Clemson University, and it was unclear as of Thursday if Kiffin plans to use any players who participated in a camp with NFL squads.