LSU finally locked the roster for the season without Dae’Quan Wright or Zxavian Harris. The last two spots went to returning Tigers instead. However, it did not end the larger dispute LSU President Wade Rousse still had to address with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey before Thursday’s SEC meeting.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
The additions were sophomore cornerback Aidan Anding and defensive end Gabriel Reliford. Both were already LSU players, not incoming transfers. Reports said they had been left off the original 103-man list in part because of injury. It was only one part of the fight with the SEC.
That is why Rousse sent Sankey a letter on September 9, 2026. Pete Thamel reported that ESPN obtained the letter the same day through a FOIA request. It went to Sankey at the SEC office in Birmingham, Alabama.
Rousse said the letter was meant to “clear up the allegations against LSU” in the pending federal case styled SEC v. LSU. He declared the disputes “moot.” LSU’s possible addition of former NFL players, and any effort to block the special SEC presidents-and-chancellors meeting set for September 10.
On September 4, Rousse called Sankey and gave advance notice that LSU would not place Wright or Harris on the football roster. LSU confirmed this when it submitted its 103-player roster later that evening, before the Clemson game.
On September 8, LSU filled the last two spots with eligible student-athletes. Rousse wrote that the roster is now locked for the season and that LSU complied with SEC rules. That is why he treats the former-player issue as settled.
Rousse received official notice of the special presidents and chancellors meeting on September 8. That meeting is set for Thursday, September 10, 2026. He said LSU never threatened to upset it. Rousse wrote that LSU “will not challenge, disrupt or seek to cancel or postpone” the meeting.
The meeting was supposed to consider whether to terminate LSU’s SEC membership under Section 3.1.5 of the SEC Constitution and Bylaws. That section gives the presidents plenary authority over conference affairs, including involuntary termination of a member. A two-thirds vote of all CEOs is required.
However, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, the LSU expulsion is no longer on the agenda of Thursday’s meeting. He further reported that the productive communication between Rousse and Sankey also played a role in getting the Tigers’ expulsion off the agenda, along with Lane Kiffin’s program’s decision not to roster former pros.
Earlier this week, the SEC’s amended complaint alleged a “lack of institutional control,” especially over coach Lane Kiffin and the football program. It cited LSU’s earlier efforts to add Wright and Harris. It also cited Kiffin’s halftime line against Clemson. Kiffin said, “Imagine if we had pro players.”
The SEC had already escalated before LSU filled the last roster spots. On September 4, the other 15 SEC presidents held an informal meeting without Rousse and reached a consensus that a formal special meeting was needed.
They wanted that meeting, whether LSU backed off the players or not. Filling the roster with Anding and Reliford solved the immediate player issue, but did not erase the institutional-control argument the SEC put in writing.
Why the SEC case is not finished
The SEC filed its original federal lawsuit against LSU officials on September 3, 2026, in the U.S. District Court. It filed the First Amended Complaint on September 8. The same day, it filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.
The conference’s core claim says LSU waged a coordinated campaign to recruit and potentially roster former NFL players in violation of the SEC’s rules. A voluntary group can set its own standards and choose whom it associates with.
The SEC separately asked a federal judge to bar LSU officials, the LSU Board of Supervisors, and Murrill from taking legal action to block or undo the September 10 meeting or its outcome. The TRO and preliminary injunction hearing set for September 9 in Birmingham was postponed minutes before it was due to start.
Wright and Harris are not legally finished with this. Their attorney, Ryan Downton, said they are evaluating options after LSU filled the last two roster spots. Downton had earlier argued that the Louisiana injunction barred LSU from taking “prohibitive action” against them, including using SEC penalty risk as a reason to keep them off the roster.
That could still produce a contempt fight even though neither player made the 105-man list. Agent Drew Rosenhaus said Wednesday that Wright is waiting on the NFL. Teams have interest, but the league has not cleared him to return. Harris is also trying to sign with the NFL.