Visitors easily develop a fondness for South Louisiana. It has a culture unlike any other place in the U.S. From Huey Long to the present Governor Jeff Landry, the state's politics have been consistently brazen. LSU's football program is followed by fans so passionate they can be called maniacal.
SEC Presidents and Chancellors have given Greg Sankey "full and unlimited authority," with two of multiple specified penalties: a head coach suspension for 50% of the season and a fine equal to 50% of LSU's football budget.
With Governor Landry's support, LSU appears undeterred. The school is expected to file a legal challenge against the SEC. Finding a judge in Louisiana who will side with LSU is almost guaranteed.
LSU might have another, bigger threat in the CFB Playoff Board of Managers. Ross Dellenger reported that the Playoff leadership will consider disqualifying any team that plays a professional player. The Texas Tech debacle with Brendan Sorsby prompted the Board of Managers to consider disqualifying a player. However unlikely LSU is to win legal battles with the SEC, the Playoff entity poses a bigger threat.
Once LSU decided to hire Lane Kiffin, the Bengal Tigers program has been 'all-in' on winning it all as soon as the 2026 season. With a deep well of petrochemical dollars to use, no amount of money is too much for LSU. It is not far-fetched to believe that if the SEC imposes a massive fine, Governor Landry will have no problem using state money to replace it.
LSU cannot afford the psychic blow of the Bengal Tigers being excluded from the Playoff. Coming back from such a blow would require more than Cajun voodoo.
The SEC's move to disqualify professionals also includes basketball players. Will Wade is building his roster with such players.
For those not on LSU's side, there is some sweet irony here. LSU got just what it wanted in Wade and Kiffin. USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer wrote that Kiffin is exactly what "he's repeatedly proven to be ... That’s someone with a loose grip on ethics, someone who repeatedly plants his flag at the vanguard of unsavoriness, someone who’ll take a mile if you give him an inch. If another coach might think about bending or breaking a rule or ignoring conventional ethics, Kiffin will race to beat them to the starting line"
Will Wade is all of the above and worse. Wade flaunts disregard for rules in an almost pathological fashion.
Kiffin and Wade give LSU exactly what it wants: a no-holds-barred, blatant disregard for even the slightest restraint. Perhaps the SEC and the Playoff Board of Managers will impose a heavy price. College sports will be better for it if they do.
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