Southeastern Conference leaders to discuss kicking LSU out of league over player eligibility dispute

Leaders of the Southeastern Conference will meet Thursday to discuss whether to kick LSU out of the conference in the wake of a simmering feud over whether players who spent time in the NFL should be allowed back on the team's roster.

On Tuesday, the SEC amended the federal lawsuit it filed last week, asking the judge in the case to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent LSU from taking action to block or interfere with the Thursday meeting of school presidents and chancellors.

A vote of at least two-thirds of the conference's CEOs would be needed to dump LSU, which is a founding member of the conference that was started in 1933. An LSU spokesman declined immediate comment.

The SEC established a rule forbidding teams to bring players with NFL experience back on their roster. Two of those players, Zxavian Harris and Dae'Quan Wright, have been practicing with the team but were not placed on the roster in advance of last Saturday's 51-10 win over Clemson. They still could be added.

In a statement, the SEC said it has the right to establish rules and "a commitment to those rules and to the core principles of the Southeastern Conference is an essential element of SEC membership."

"Today's filing is necessary to defend that right and preserve the Conference's ability to govern competition among its members," the statement said.

___

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP's full college football coverage here

Related topics