Lane Kiffin is daring the SEC to do something about his program's conference order-defining actions. Kiffin has repeatedly tried to bring back NFL players despite Greg Sankey and Co. taking a stand against it. The conference is considering drastic measures, perhaps going as far as to expel the Bayou Bengals from its member ranks.
Does that mean Auburn will boycott LSU on its schedule? The two teams are scheduled to play at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 24 during a hellish slate that month for Alex Golesh and his coaching staff. There's also a matchup in Death Valley tentatively scheduled for 2028.
According to sources who spoke to Yahoo's Ross Dellenger with anonymity, "legal and internal avenues intended to address the school's plans to add former professional athletes to its rosters, including extreme measures such as boycotting competition against the Tigers, sanctioning the school with probation or even expulsion, and/or filing a federal legal challenge" are all on the table.
"It is unlikely that the league or its member schools make a formal decision on a path forward before a Thursday hearing in Baton Rouge, where a judge is expected to hear arguments in the Louisiana eligibility case that opened the door for these professional athletes to return to college," Dellenger prefaced before saying, "One thing is clear, though: Multiple SEC university officials believe that action is required to maintain a fair and balanced competitive field within the conference, and they are prepared to take serious steps against an LSU program that, they claim, stands to violate the membership constitution and bylaws."
Is Auburn against adding former NFL players?
Golesh has claimed that he'd keep his options open when it comes to adding 2022 recruits, though it's unclear if guys with NFL experience of any kind are included in that. University president Christopher B. Roberts has not publicly claimed that he's against the practice Kiffin is actively exploiting.
Steven Pearl initially condemned Charles Bediako returning to Alabama this past hoops season, but his stance eventually softened.
It's unclear what the university thinks about this. Auburn isn't as uniquely positioned to exploit this broken system as LSU, but the Tigers have the resources to take part in some of these bidding wars. Thus far, the Tigers haven't added any former NFLers, but the basketball program has a player whose draft rights are owned by an NBA team.
Auburn can't afford to boycott LSU
Maybe a private university like Vanderbilt, with an endowment 10x as high as most SEC schools, can afford to make a philosophical decision that'd cost the program money. Not every school is in a position to turn down LSU on its schedule, though.
Auburn certainly isn't. AU is No. 8 of 15 SEC public schools in revenue. East Central Alabama can't afford to lose the tourist revenue from Louisianians (and others) traveling to the Plains for the "Tiger Bowl."
If it comes to it, Auburn needs to play by LSU's rules before ever considering eliminating a founding SEC member. Given the current state of NIL, accepting back NFL players is a better outcome than destroying the SEC and getting rid of one of the schools and college towns that help define its conference identity.
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