STWF Sports| BATON ROUGE, La.| September 10, 2026 — LSU avoided immediate disciplinary action from the Southeastern Conference after a meeting of league presidents and chancellors concluded Thursday without any punishment being imposed on the university.
LSU’s Current Standing in the SEC
The high-profile videoconference had drawn significant attention after court records suggested SEC leaders could consider whether LSU’s conference membership should be terminated. Instead, the league issued a statement saying the meeting focused on “recent matters involving conference expectations and responsibilities,” while indicating the discussions remain ongoing.
The dispute centers on LSU’s attempt to add former NFL signees Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to its football roster. Both players had signed with NFL teams as undrafted free agents earlier this year before seeking to return to college football for a fifth season.
LSU ultimately did not add Wright or Harris to its 105-man roster, a move that appeared to ease tensions between the school and conference leadership. In a letter to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, LSU president Wade Rousse maintained that the university had complied with conference rules by not rostering the former professional players and described the immediate issue as resolved.
Rousse briefly participated in Thursday’s meeting before stepping away because of pending federal litigation involving both LSU and the SEC. According to ESPN reporting, Rousse told conference leaders that legal counsel had advised him against further participation because he and LSU are named defendants in the case.
The SEC’s governing rules require approval from at least two-thirds of conference presidents and chancellors to terminate a member institution. No such action was taken Thursday.
The meeting came one day after a scheduled federal court proceeding between LSU and the SEC was postponed. The conference has filed suit in federal court in Alabama, arguing that LSU’s position on former NFL players conflicts with league membership rules restricting the use of players who have already signed with professional teams.
The legal situation became more complicated after a Louisiana judge separately ruled that Wright and Harris could return for their fifth year of college eligibility and transfer to LSU.
That ruling placed the university in the middle of competing legal and conference expectations. While the players received clearance in Louisiana, the SEC maintained that its own membership rules prohibited member schools from signing and playing athletes who had already entered professional football.
LSU’s decision to complete its roster without Wright and Harris reduced the immediate likelihood of a direct rules conflict. The two players, however, could still pursue additional legal action.
The controversy has created an unusual intersection of conference governance, college eligibility standards and professional participation rules as the 2026 season continues.
For now, LSU remains an SEC member in good standing without any newly announced sanctions. The conference’s statement made clear, however, that the matter is not fully settled.
Both LSU and the SEC are expected to continue discussions while the related legal proceedings remain unresolved, leaving open broader questions about how conferences may handle athletes who sign professional contracts and later seek to return to college competition.
