Tampering has taken a new shape in the NIL-dominated college football. The issue came to light with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney’s rant against Ole Miss and Pete Golding. Since then, the SEC and Ole Miss have faced new allegations. With frustration growing, Georgia president Jere Morehead stepped in, warning that if governing bodies don’t act, the SEC may need to enforce its own rules. Now, Morehead is doubling down on his demand.

“Have we seen the CSC move against any institution yet? I don’t think so,” Morehead wrote. “Have we seen the NCAA take any action on tampering? I don’t think so. So I think we’re getting to the point that the SEC is going to have to create its own rules, enforce them against our members, and hope that we can set an example that the other Power 4 conferences would then follow. But we desperately need rules, and rules that are going to be enforced. We have rules, but they’re not being enforced.”

Morehead’s frustration is tied to the constant negative coverage surrounding the conference when it comes to such irregularities. Just a day ago, the newly formed College Sports Commission (CSC) announced that it has opened an investigation into LSU over potential violations of unreported player compensation and NIL reporting. It’s the first public probe of its kind.

While the news just broke, the process actually began earlier. CSC head of investigations Katie B. Medearis emailed LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry on January 15, 2026. LSU, for its part, is downplaying the situation.

On January 30, the university said it has been in “regular communication” with the CSC since the commission formed in the summer of 2025. Spokesperson Zach Greenwell added that LSU expects the matter to be “resolved shortly.” That’s where things stand. And that’s also the problem. So far, there’s no real sign of punishment or urgency from governing bodies. This is the exact kind of “chaos” Georgia President Jere Morehead has been calling out.

Situations like the Lane Kiffin–LSU–Ole Miss saga, he argues, damage the SEC’s credibility. Kiffin was accused of leaking confidential NIL details from Ole Miss. That, in turn, allegedly triggered players like TJ Dottery, Princewill Umanmielen, and Devin Harper to flip to LSU. Ironically, Ole Miss later used similar tactics to land Luke Ferrelli from Clemson. Reports claimed that Pete Golding continued texting Ferrelli between classes, even after he had enrolled and signed.

After that, he eventually joined the Rebels. All of this unfolded within a single month. The hypocrisy hasn’t gone unnoticed. Dabo Swinney openly called out Ole Miss for complaining about Kiffin while allegedly doing the same thing themselves. Swinney labeled the situation a “sad state of affairs,” while former Georgia star David Pollack urged the NCAA to “drop the hammer” on blatant tampering. Pollack even warned that if the SEC and Big Ten don’t clean this up themselves, it could eventually lead to a breakaway from the current Power Four structure.

SEC with its own anti-tampering police

At this point, getting some clear tampering rules for the SEC shouldn’t be rocket science. There’s been a ton of evidence coming out this month. And the conference really has no choice but to take a serious look. Take the Dabo Swinney-Pete Golding situation. When Swinney accused Golding of tampering with Luke Ferrelli, it wasn’t just empty talk.

Swinney says he has evidence that Golding actually texted Ferrelli a photo of a $1 million contract while Ferrelli was in class. All together, the proofs have already been sent to the NCAA, and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has been “looped in” on the formal report. If the SEC decides to go with this with its present discussions about creating its own anti-tampering rules, it would be a major transition.

Instead of relying on national bodies like the NCAA or the College Sports Commission, the SEC could start policing itself. Conference leaders are pushing for this because they want rules with actual “teeth,” something they feel the NCAA just doesn’t have right now. The plan would likely encourage schools to report tampering directly to the SEC.

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Under the proposed system, the conference would hold head coaches accountable for the actions of their assistants or for affiliated NIL deals. And the consequences could be pretty serious:

• Financial penalties: Fines for athletic departments or even just the coaches.

• Suspensions: Coaches could face game- or season-long bans.

• Scholarship reductions: Offending programs might lose future recruiting opportunities.

It remains to be seen whether anything will change.