BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A potential landmark federal court hearing between the SEC and LSU was postponed amid the school's efforts to de-escalate the situation.
Moments before the temporary restraining order hearing in the SEC's lawsuit against LSU, Lane Kiffin and others was set to begin, it was announced that the hearing had been continued and would be rescheduled for a later date. It is unclear when that will be, if ever.
It marks a significant cooling of a situation that burned red hot on Tuesday when the SEC filed an amended federal lawsuit that set the stage for a possible expulsion of LSU.
"Forced association with a member whose conduct is antithetical to the SEC's mission and core values violates the Conference's fundamental First Amendment rights," reads the SEC's updated filing. "LSU has rejected those core values repeatedly and publicly. An injunction is necessary to prevent the irreparable harm that the SEC will suffer if it cannot remove a member to avoid association of the Conference's name, brand, championships, and media properties with the conduct and views that the Conference and its member institutions have condemned for decades."
Before the possibility of expulsion could even set in, the school decided Tuesday to give up on rostering Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, two former Ole Miss players who signed professional contracts, and instead locked in its 105-player roster without them. It wasn't a particularly shocking decision, as LSU had already left the pair off its roster last Friday despite the players winning the right to do so from a Baton Rouge judge.
Additionally, LSU president Wade Rousse sent a letter to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey promising that LSU "will not challenge, disrupt or seek to cancel or postpone" a meeting scheduled for Thursday between the other 15 SEC presidents and chancellors, which was expected to include a discussion about expelling LSU from the conference. Yahoo Sports later reported it was no longer part of the agenda.
"The roster is now locked for the season," Rousse wrote to Sankey in a memo. "LSU complied with SEC rules. The issue is moot."
It may not be quite as simple as Rousse hopes, but it is clear from LSU's recent actions that the school is hoping to move on from its unprecedented legal battle with the SEC. Expelling LSU was always the nuclear option that no one wanted to do unless absolutely necessary.
But it was clear that the SEC was serious about holding the line in the first real test of the conference's ability to enforce its own rules in this particularly litigious environment. Had LSU refused to comply, sources had told CBS Sports last week that the votes would be there to expel the school from the conference.
Thankfully for all involved, cooler heads prevailed, and it didn't get to that moment. That doesn't mean there won't be consequences, both for the institution as a whole and also potentially for Kiffin and LSU administrators. In the build-up to Wednesday's scheduled federal court hearing, there was a belief that fines and suspensions would be in play if the SEC got its desired result. It will be interesting to see how that situation is resolved now that the most extreme potential punishment is off the table.
Amid all the drama, Kiffin and LSU are 1-0 after a dominating 51-10 win over Clemson. LSU plays Louisiana Tech this week before Lane's much-anticipated return to Oxford to play Ole Miss on Sept. 19.
John Talty is the author of Lane Being Lane: The Story of Lane Kiffin, College Football's Agent of Chaos, to be published by Harper, Sept. 15, 2026. The first book on the most polarizing coach in college sports, Louisiana State University football coach Lane Kiffin, charts his inexorable rise and his impact on the game, as he left a trail of winning teams, bad feelings, and controversy in his wake.
