Sankey: Pro Athletes Returning to College 'Fuels Disruption'
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- Greg Sankey filed an affidavit in East Baton Rouge Parish court asking Judge Ronald Johnson to uphold NCAA rules barring professional athletes from returning to college sports, writing that permitting it "fuels disruption" and threatens "the integrity of college sports."
- RJ Luis, the 2024-25 Big East Player of the Year, filed the underlying lawsuit after signing two-way contracts with the Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics in 2025; his case is scheduled for a preliminary injunction hearing on Aug. 24.
- A separate lawsuit filed Wednesday by 32 athletes — including three currently on NFL rosters — was granted a temporary restraining order allowing them to compete this fall, with the NCAA expected to appeal.
- Three plaintiffs in that case — Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris, and Wydett Williams Jr. — most recently played at Ole Miss under current LSU coach Lane Kiffin, putting Sankey on the opposing side of a legal argument affecting a school in his own conference.
- LSU's official roster lists only four players for the coming season — Divine Ugochukwu, Abdi Bashir Jr., Austin Nunez, and Mouhamed Dioubate — with eligibility decisions pending for international additions Brice Dessert, Marcio Santos, Saliou Niang, and Michael Ruzic.
- The NCAA faces more than two dozen lawsuits from hundreds of athletes challenging eligibility rules; in June it changed rules to allow five seasons within a five-year window but declined to grant an extra year to outgoing athletes.
- Luis' attorneys argued the NCAA already permits players with European pro contracts to compete and that barring him violates a Louisiana state precedent barring associations from "arbitrarily allow[ing] the privilege to some and not to others."
Why it matters: Sankey's opposition comes from the leader of the conference that LSU belongs to, making him directly at odds with a school's legal fight — and with LSU's roster sitting at just four listed players, an Aug. 24 injunction ruling materially shapes whether the Tigers can field a competitive team this season. The NCAA is simultaneously appealing a separate TRO granted to 32 athletes, so the next two weeks likely determine how broadly courts force open the pro-to-college pipeline.
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