‘I was just kidding…’ Texas A&M HC Mike Elko on LSU-SEC saga

Texas A&M coach Mike Elko does not expect the SEC’s escalating dispute with LSU to end with the Tigers being removed from the conference. During Wednesday’s Aggie Football Hour, Elko compared the public standoff to a child testing a parent’s limits before quickly backing down.

The SEC is no longer expected to vote Thursday on LSU’s membership after the school finalized its 105-player football roster without former NFL players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris. Both players signed NFL contracts and participated in training camps before attempting to return to college football.

The controversy escalated after a Louisiana judge issued a preliminary injunction that opened the door for Wright, Harris and other athletes to regain their college eligibility. The SEC opposed LSU’s plans, filed a federal lawsuit and scheduled a meeting of conference presidents and chancellors to consider the school’s membership.

“This is a little bit like the son figuring out where the limits are until dad comes home and raises his voice, and then the son goes, ‘I was just kidding, I didn’t mean any of that,’” Elko said.

College athletics has resembled a never-ending soap opera in recent years, and the situation has only become more chaotic over the past few months. It is fair to say the sport has officially “jumped the shark.”

Elko has repeatedly advocated for stronger centralized governance outside the individual conferences and the NCAA to bring some stability to college athletics. With lawsuits piling up, eligibility rules changing and conferences fighting publicly with their own members, he may have a point.

Texas A&M is scheduled to visit LSU on Sept. 26, and Elko made one prediction confidently. LSU will still be in the SEC when the Aggies arrive in Baton Rouge.

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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: ‘I was just kidding…’ Texas A&M HC Mike Elko on LSU-SEC saga