Will Greg Sankey’s Ego-Trip Backfire?

My guess is an 11th hour “mutual understanding” will be reached. Sankey is being a penny wise and a pound foolish on this one. The big10 or ACC will adopt LSU in a flash. Then comes the lawsuits from LSU, players and ESPN. Pandora’s box will seem like a friendly genie compared to the one Sankey decides to open.

Sankey will be fired or “retire” within a year

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ACC

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Lol yea let’s go take road trips to Cal and Stanford

He should be replaced he is making a joke out of this whole situation that hearing he sounded like a buffoon

Sure ego trip backfires. The guy didn’t even know the 5 for 5 rule 12 hours before the court date. What a DA!

Stankey doesn’t want to wade off into this water. A very vindictive Governor and a bulldog AG will make him wish the worst part of his experience was Tony Clayton teabagging him last week

READ ONLY IF INTERESTED IN THE FACTS

The SEC has a legitimate legal argument for expelling LSU, but I do not think the SEC has an overwhelmingly strong case that LSU committed the kind of violation that justifies expulsion. There is an important distinction between “the SEC has the contractual power to expel LSU” and “LSU's conduct legally justifies exercising that power.”

Where Sankey has a legitimate case

The SEC's strongest argument is that LSU voluntarily agreed to SEC governance, and the SEC Constitution apparently gives the presidents/chancellors broad authority, including the ability to terminate a member with a two-thirds vote. The SEC has now formally scheduled that vote for Thursday, September 10.

The SEC can also argue:

The professionalism rule was adopted by the conference.
LSU knew the rule existed.
LSU's coach actively tried to bring former NFL players onto the LSU roster.
The SEC believes that allowing those players would undermine a rule that applies to every member.
LSU's conduct therefore wasn't merely a disagreement over NCAA eligibility — it potentially challenged the SEC's authority to establish its own competitive rules.

That is the Sankey argument.

But here's where LSU has a very strong defense

The timing of the rule is extremely important.

The SEC didn't simply have a longstanding, crystal-clear rule that LSU suddenly decided to violate. The specific prohibition against players with recent professional experience returning to college was adopted
August 25, 2026, after the court litigation over the NCAA's new eligibility system had already begun. Reuters reports that the SEC and Big Ten adopted these restrictions on August 25 in response to the court rulings allowing former professionals another college season.

And the SEC's own amended complaint acknowledges that the NCAA adopted the new 5-for-5 eligibility system in June 2026, followed by lawsuits from members of the 2022 recruiting class.

That creates a very different picture from:

“LSU knowingly violated a longstanding SEC rule.”

It looks much more like:

The NCAA changed eligibility ? players sued ? courts began granting eligibility ? LSU tried to use those court rulings ? the SEC rapidly created/strengthened a rule prohibiting those players ? LSU challenged the SEC rule in court.

That's a much harder fact pattern on which to justify the ultimate punishment of expulsion from a conference that LSU has belonged to since 1933.

And there is another BIG problem for Sankey

The Louisiana judge didn't simply say LSU was right.

The judge issued an injunction blocking the SEC from enforcing its professionalism restriction against the affected athletes. Reuters reported that the injunction specifically prevented the SEC and Sankey from enforcing the ban.

Then LSU actually didn't put Wright or Harris on its roster for the Clemson game, despite having the court's protection.

That is important.

The SEC is now talking about expelling LSU over conduct involving players LSU ultimately did not use in its first game.

That weakens the argument that LSU actually damaged competitive integrity.

The issue I think could become decisive....

When did all the SEC schools know this was a rule?

That's potentially enormous.

If Sankey can prove:

the professionalism restriction was properly adopted,
LSU had clear notice before it acted,
LSU deliberately agreed to the rule,
LSU deliberately violated it, and
LSU's conduct constituted a serious breach of the SEC's governing agreement,

then Sankey has a serious case.

But if LSU can establish:

the rule was created after the eligibility litigation began,
the rule was designed specifically to stop the court-ordered eligibility rights,
LSU was challenging the rule's legality rather than simply ignoring it,
a Louisiana judge specifically prohibited the SEC from enforcing it,
LSU ultimately did not use the players, and
the SEC is now trying to expel LSU for challenging a disputed rule, and
then expulsion starts looking extraordinarily aggressive and retaliatory !

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Louisiana authorities can and absolutely will appeal it immediately to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which handles Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

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Nitpicking about home cooking. If you were talking about the SEC'S suit in Alabama, it would be appealed to the 11th Circuit in Atlanta.

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. The big10 or ACC will adopt LSU in a flash.

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I think this will ultimately be why it doesn't happen. Any person with any kind of sense will realize that shipping out one of if not your biggest brand to another conference isnt smart. And as mentioned by others the suit that will come from ESPN. LSU is a huge draw and a big part of that TV contract. Eliminate them and ESPN loses big time. They won't just be ok with that.

I agree. Nice post. Do you think Saban would have any interest running the sec
Clown show?

As R2-d2 would say you are our only hope