The Southeastern Conference isn’t fighting the courts anymore.
Commissioner Greg Sankey and the league confirmed they’ll comply with every new court order tied to player eligibility, including the ones coming out of Louisiana that directly affect LSU, according to attorney Darren Heitner.
Heitner shared the update on social media Saturday morning, and it gives college football fans a clearer picture of where this eligibility fight stands.
“My understanding is that the SEC and Greg Sankey will comply with all applicable court orders including those in Louisiana,” Heitner wrote. “This portion of a newly issued order should be sufficient to give schools comfort with rostering athletes despite threatened penalties. SEC is a Defendant.”
This whole situation kicked off after the SEC laid out new rules aimed at keeping former NFL players off college rosters.
The conference wanted to stop athletes who’d already gone pro from turning around and playing college ball again.
But a Louisiana court case named the SEC as a defendant and pushed back against that plan, saying schools could still roster those players without fear of punishment.
The league didn’t stay quiet about what breaking the new rule would cost a program.
A statement from the SEC’s presidents, chancellors and athletic directors spelled out three groups of athletes the policy targets: anyone who declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA draft and never properly withdrew, anyone who signed with a pro team, and anyone who’s already appeared on a professional roster.
Get caught rostering one of those players and a coach loses half a season on the sideline. The school also forfeits its SEC voting rights, and the price tag runs to half of that sport’s yearly budget.
What the court order actually changes
Heitner made sure to clarify that the court order doesn’t force any school’s hand.
“To be clear nothing requires any school to roster any player,” he added. “However if the school decides it is in its best interests to do so the court order should provide sufficient cover.”
He noted that protection only applies to players named as plaintiffs in the case, and only where a court order specifically blocks the SEC from punishing the school or its coaches.
That distinction matters a lot for Lane Kiffin and LSU right now.
Three names sit at the center of it: Junior Tuihalamaka, who came over from Notre Dame, and a pair of ex-Ole Miss players in Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris.
A judge issued restraining orders covering all three earlier this month, and a hearing on Sept. 3 will decide whether those protections turn into a full preliminary injunction.
A win there keeps the trio in Baton Rouge with no threat of SEC punishment hanging over the program.
More names could join Tigers before kickoff
A couple more names are worth watching too.
Cornerback Blake Cotton, who played his college ball at Utah, is reportedly already settled in with the program and just waiting on his own eligibility question to clear up.
Edge rusher Jack Pyburn is a longer shot. He’s had a solid preseason with Tampa Bay, so the Buccaneers might just keep him on their 53-man roster.
If they don’t and he gets released Aug. 30, LSU would have a shot at adding him once he clears waivers on Sept. 1.
LSU opens its season Sept. 5 against Clemson in Baton Rouge, and this ruling gives Kiffin’s roster plans a much steadier foundation heading into that opener.
Assuming everything stays out of another courtroom this week.
