Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images/Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey next to LSU football fans
We were treated to some major college football drama right before the current season got underway when LSU ended up in a war with the SEC over its attempt to add former NFL players to its roster. The Tigers ultimately waved the white flag, but some fans are salty over how conference commissioner Greg Sankey handled the situation to the point where they raised thousands of dollars for billboards calling for his firing.
The college football landscape has been dramatically altered by the advent of the NIL Era, which created a bit of a Wild West where schools are routinely seeing what they can get away with while challenging the rapidly deteriorating authority of the NCAA.
The line between college athletes and professionals has become blurred to the point where it’s virtually unidentifiable, but the governing bodies that oversee the realm where amateurism long reigned supreme have taken steps to attempt to maintain some sort of distinction.
There was once a time when the idea of a college program rostering someone who’s signed a contract with a pro sports team would have been unfathomable. However, a number of basketball teams tried to go that route last season, and LSU recently caused quite the stir after recruiting a couple of guys who headed back to Baton Rouge after trying (and failing) to make it in the NFL.
That ended up sparking a legal battle where the SEC walked away on top, and some Tigers fans have gone out of their way to voice their displeasure with its commissioner.
LSU fans raised over $7,000 to put up “Fire Sankey” billboards near the SEC headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama
If you somehow missed the saga between LSU and the SEC, here’s a quick refresher.
In August, LSU signaled it was ready to welcome two guys who had played under Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss before inking contracts with NFL teams: tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris (the former signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent before the Browns claimed him on waivers, while the latter got a chance with the Saints).
That didn’t fly with the SEC, which swiftly passed new rules banning athletes who attempted to turn pro from returning to school. The conference didn’t stop there, as it scheduled a meeting where the rest of its members had the chance to expel LSU from the conference while citing a “lack of institutional control.”
The SEC also filed a lawsuit in federal court, but ultimately declined to add Wright and Harris to the final roster before the school’s president asserted the issue was “moot.”
The fight left a bitter taste in the mouth of more than a few Tigers fans, as more than 150 people have donated as much as $500 while throwing their support behind a GoFundMe dedicated to putting up “Fire Sankey” billboards in Birmingham, Alabama, the city where the SEC is headquartered.
The page has generated $7,169 as of this writing while surpassing its initial goal of $6,000, and the remainder will be “used for other banners or billboards on the topic in other locations” based on polls conducted on an LSU message board.
How can you not love college football?