Pete Thamel reveals likely fate of LSU as SEC prepares expulsion vote
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For nearly a century, the Southeastern Conference has policed its members through pressure, penalties and paperwork. It has never once voted a school out. That could change Thursday, at least on paper. The college football conference is trying to expel one of its founding members over a fight about players who once signed NFL contracts.
On ESPN’s “Get Up”, Mike Greenberg asked whether the league might actually kick out LSU as soon as this week. College football insider Pete Thamel walked through why the answer is probably no, even as the option sits on the table.
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What Pete Thamel said on Get Up about the SEC vote
Thamel told Greenberg the SEC presidents and chancellors will meet Thursday to discuss expelling LSU. He tied it to a court filing.
“Within that filing, Greeny, they made it very clear that on Thursday, i.e., tomorrow, the SEC presidents and chancellors are going to meet to discuss throwing LSU, expelling LSU from the league,” Thamel said.
He did not expect the league to follow through. Still, he stressed the option is now written into the record.
“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.”
The vote falls under Section 3.1.5 of the SEC Constitution and Bylaws. Removing a school takes a two-thirds majority of the conference presidents.
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Why the SEC is suing LSU over former NFL players
The fight started with eligibility. A group of athletes sued in Louisiana state court seeking a fifth year of play. A Baton Rouge judge granted a preliminary injunction that blocked the SEC from enforcing its rules against them. Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill backed the players in court and called the SEC’s federal suit “legal garbage.”
The SEC then sued LSU, coach Lane Kiffin and school officials in federal court in Birmingham. The league argued it has a First Amendment right to choose who it associates with. In an amended complaint Tuesday, the SEC added board members and Murrill as defendants and sought the legal authority to expel LSU. The filing accused the school of a “demonstrated lack of institutional control,” including over Kiffin.
LSU has not helped its own case in the eyes of the league. The other 15 schools met without LSU President Wade Rousse and reached what the SEC described as a consensus that the Tigers no longer fit the conference. LSU declined to roster former Ole Miss players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris for its opener against Clemson.
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What happens if the SEC votes to expel LSU
An actual expulsion would be historic. No power conference member has voted out another school since the Big East removed Temple after the 2004 season. LSU is a charter SEC member with championships and revenue attached to its name. The penalties already on the table are steep. They include a fine equal to half a team’s operating budget, a suspension of the head coach for half the season and a loss of SEC voting rights.
The Wednesday hearing in Birmingham comes before U.S. District Judge Annemarie Carney Axon. The SEC wants an order stopping LSU and state officials from blocking or undoing Thursday’s meeting. A vote does not mean LSU leaves. But the paperwork now says the league could try.
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