Here's What's Next In the SEC's Fight With LSU Following Historic Court Ruling

LSU football is back Saturday, but the season opener is the last thing on a lot of people's minds in Baton Rouge.

Lane Kiffin said that's not the case for his team, which he said on Monday is locked in on football.

The whole chaos surrounding LSU is a legal battle over the eligibility of 2022 recruits who signed professional contracts this summer and, at the beginning of August, got a fifth season of eligibility.

LSU is so entangled in this because it had gotten commitments from former Cleveland Browns tight end Da'Quan Wright and New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, both of whom were on Kiffin's Ole Miss squad last season.

With the court ruling in LSU's favor Thursday night, here's what the next steps will be as the SEC continues to fight the addition of former professional contracted athletes.

The SEC's Strategy Moving Forward

Jul 17, 2023; Nashville, TN, USA; SEC commissioner Greg Sankey talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Hyatt. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The SEC started its fight back last week with a unanimous - including LSU - vote on banning former professional players from being added to rosters.

The players who were named in the Jack Pyburn et al. v. National Collegiate Athletic Association amended their original lawsuit and got another hearing, the one that was heard on Thursday, which was challenging the SEC's authority to punish LSU and the players' eligibility.

During the hearing, news broke that the SEC had sued LSU, naming LSU president Wade Rousse, LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry and LSU head coach Lane Kiffin as defendants.

The SEC is after a court ruling to “enter a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting Defendants from violating the Conference’s First Amendment rights by compelling the Conference to associate with conduct that is contrary to the Conference’s purpose and mission.”

The SEC claimed in its suit that LSU "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."

That suit was filed federally in Alabama's Northern District, where Birmingham, the home of the SEC's headquarters, is located.

The civil complaint was accompanied by a collection of federal summons in the suit, which were handed out to Rousse, Ausberry and Kiffin, according to WAFB's Friday afternoon report.

The SEC's play at this point is to get a favorable court ruling for itself and be able to enforce punishments on schools that add former professional players.

Will LSU Add Wright and Harris?

Sep 13, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels tight end Dae'Quan Wright (8) runs after a catch during the second quarter against the Arkansas Razorback at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

LSU has to submit its final 105-man roster to the College Sports Commission by midnight Friday, per NCAA bylaws.

But there is another rule that allows schools to add players to the roster at any point in the season, so long as the school has open roster spots and those players are enrolled in the university at the time of the first game, according to a new SEC bylaw adopted in April.

LSU does have open roster spots, Kiffin had said on Monday.

So there is no need for LSU to add the players by Friday night - if the players are enrolled at the university - if it wants to add the players to the roster.

LSU left the courthouse with an order to roster the players, according to the judge in Thursday's ruling, stating that LSU is barred from taking action that would prevent the players from being rostered.

Now, the question becomes when the Federal case that the SEC filed against LSU gets heard, that ruling will supersede the state court's ruling on Thursday.

It's then that the SEC can choose to administer penalties, as the judge barred the conference from enacting those penalties with his ruling.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google