LSU, SEC rift cools as Tigers say issue 'moot' after complying

The SEC's showdown with LSU, which included threats of expulsion from the league, has de-escalated.

LSU president Wade Rousse, in a letter sent to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey on Wednesday and obtained by ESPN's Pete Thamel, said the Tigers have "complied" with conference rules by locking their roster without adding any former NFL players and that the "issue is moot."

The letter, which Rousse said was to "clear up the allegations against LSU," is the latest move by the university in its fight with the SEC about having wanted to add former NFL rookies Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to its roster.

"LSU filled its two remaining roster spots with eligible student-athletes," Rouse wrote to Sankey in the letter. "The roster is now locked for the season. LSU complied with SEC rules. The point is moot."

Earlier Wednesday, a federal court hearing for the SEC's lawsuit against LSU that was filed last week and amended Tuesday was postponed to a later date that has not yet been set.

The SEC continues to have a meeting scheduled for Thursday with its presidents and chancellors, which court filings indicated would "decide whether to terminate Louisiana State University" from the SEC. That outcome had always faced long odds, and those appear even longer now that LSU hasn't rostered the two NFL players.

While there are still issues between the SEC and LSU, the last 24 hours have offered a distinct change in tenor and discourse.

"At no point has LSU ever threatened to upset the meeting [Thursday]," Rousse wrote to Sankey. "But to be clear, LSU will not challenge, disrupt or seek to cancel or postpone this meeting. This issue is also moot."

Under SEC rules, a vote of at least two-thirds of all the presidents is required to terminate a school's membership. The conference is not expected to do so, but the amended filing indicates the seriousness of the league as it attempts to affirm the legal right to enforce its own rules.

Wright and Harris, who both played for new LSU coach Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss last year, were cleared by a Louisiana judge last week to return for their fifth year of college and transfer to LSU even though they had signed with NFL teams earlier this year as undrafted free agents.

LSU, however, held off on adding Wright and Harris to its 105-man roster as it weighed the potential consequences of violating the SEC's newly established rules and facing the hefty penalties associated with rostering athletes who have previously signed professional contracts.

Judge William Jorden approved a preliminary injunction Thursday that prohibited the NCAA and SEC from punishing any school that plays Wright, Harris or the rest of the 42 athletes who successfully sued the NCAA in Louisiana court seeking a fifth year of eligibility.

LSU, however, eliminated the possibility of Wright and Harris joining the roster by adding two other players to bring the football program's roster to the 105-man limit.

Attorney Ryan Downton, who represents Wright and Harris, told ESPN on Tuesday that the players are considering their legal options.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach, Max Olson and Dan Murphy contributed to this report.