The SEC Should Seriously Consider Kicking LSU Out

At what point does a school become more of a liability to the SEC than it's worth? I think LSU is getting dangerously close to that point if it hasn't reached it already. Before the inevitable LSU fan asks, "What exactly did LSU do wrong?" I'll explain it.

LSU attempted to bring former NFL players back into college football despite SEC rules prohibiting it. When the conference objected, the dispute ended up in federal court. Just yesterday, the SEC opposed LSU's attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed, raising concerns about institutional control and the conference's authority to enforce its rules.

Now we're seeing eligibility questions involving LSU basketball as well. At some point, you have to wonder what LSU thinks conference membership actually means.

The SEC is an association of universities that agree to follow common rules. If LSU doesn't like those rules, it can work to change them. But it can't expect the other fifteen schools to operate under one set of standards while LSU operates under another.

And I find it interesting that LSU fans keep asking what their school did wrong as though the SEC decided to sue one of its founding members for no reason. Read the lawsuit. You don't have to agree with the SEC to understand why this is a serious issue.

This isn't about whether NCAA eligibility rules are fair. It's about whether a conference has the authority to enforce its own rules. If it doesn't, what's the point of having a conference? I'd say the same thing if Alabama were doing this.

If LSU continues challenging the authority of the conference it voluntarily belongs to, perhaps the other members should reconsider whether LSU belongs at all.

The SEC doesn't need LSU nearly as much as LSU needs the SEC. I think a lot of LSU fans have convinced themselves otherwise. Being a founding member doesn't give LSU the right to play by a different set of rules.