What Happened SEC presidents and chancellors are scheduled to meet Thursday, Sept. 10, to consider ending LSU’s membership as the conference fights in court for the authority to enforce eligibility rules governing players who previously played professionally.

The meeting is formally documented in an amended SEC filing, but Pete Thamel said he does not expect LSU to be expelled.

> “Look, Greeny, the expectation is they are not going to throw LSU from the league,” Thamel said. “But the fact is that Greg Sankey testified for three hours in a state court hearing.”

A two-thirds vote of SEC presidents is required to remove a school, and a vote to terminate LSU’s membership would not immediately take the Tigers out of the conference. But LSU’s SEC schedule and playoff path are in play while the league tests whether it can enforce its own eligibility rules against a member school.

A federal hearing in the SEC’s lawsuit against LSU was postponed Wednesday, with no new date or time announced.

Why This One Matters LSU beat Clemson 51-10 on Saturday, Sept. 5, after going 7-6 overall and 3-5 in the SEC in 2025. The Tigers host Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Sept. 12, then begin SEC play at Ole Miss on Sept. 19.

Any penalty affecting Kiffin, LSU’s finances or the school’s ability to participate normally in conference business would arrive before the Tigers play an SEC game. The league’s available penalties include a fine worth half a team’s operating budget, a half-season suspension for the head coach and the loss of SEC voting rights.

The SEC sued Kiffin, LSU president Wade Rousse and athletic director Verge Ausberry in federal court. The conference seeks to establish that it can apply its eligibility rules and alleges LSU failed to exercise institutional control over Kiffin.

What Most People Are Missing Thursday’s meeting appears to be leverage in the eligibility fight, not a mechanism for LSU’s immediate departure. It remains unclear whether presidents will take a termination vote, reach the required majority or instead pursue lesser sanctions.

The dispute began in Louisiana court, where an order prevented the SEC from applying the challenged eligibility rules and granted Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris eligibility. The SEC’s federal case followed.

The unanswered question extends beyond LSU: whether a conference can discipline a school that follows a state-court order at odds with conference rules. LSU’s membership, schedule and postseason status could depend on the courts’ answer.

Next Man Up The case already has affected LSU’s roster decisions. Wright and Harris were left off the Tigers’ final roster before the Clemson opener despite receiving eligibility in Louisiana court. LSU was preparing to add two other players, Pete Nakos reported.

LSU has not identified those players or said whether Wright and Harris could join the roster later.

The Pate State Read Expulsion may be unlikely, but the SEC has placed the option in its filing and put LSU’s leadership under direct pressure. A failed termination vote would not end the dispute if presidents choose financial penalties, a suspension for Kiffin or stripped voting rights.

For LSU, the court fight has already moved from a legal argument to its roster. Thursday could make it a conference-season problem, too.

What to Watch Next The meeting: Whether SEC presidents formally vote on termination and whether two-thirds support it.

The penalty: Whether the league pursues sanctions short of removal, including a Kiffin suspension, a major fine or lost voting rights.

The roster: Whether Wright, Harris or the two players LSU reportedly planned to add appear after the Clemson opener.

The court: When the postponed federal hearing is reset and whether a judge limits SEC action against LSU.