The SEC and LSU averted a courtroom showdown in Birmingham, Alabama, on Wednesday, resolving a dispute over whether the conference could enforce rules barring former professional athletes from returning to college sport. Just minutes before the scheduled federal hearing, lawyers for both sides met privately with the judge and agreed to postpone the case, after LSU backed down from its plan to add players with prior professional experience to its roster. The stand-off had escalated to the point where SEC commissioner Greg Sankey testified in a Louisiana court and school expulsion was reportedly discussed among conference leaders.

LSU declined to add former Ole Miss players Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to its Tigers roster, instead filling its two remaining spots with other eligible student-athletes, and confirmed its roster is now locked for the season. In a letter to Sankey, LSU president Wade Rousse stated the university had complied with SEC rules and considered the matter closed, though the SEC's presidents and chancellors were still due to meet on Thursday to discuss potential punishment over the affair. Despite the roster resolution, tensions between LSU and the conference, including head coach Lane Kiffin, remain to be repaired.