Lane Kiffin doubles down on call for Class of 2022 athletes to get portal window after judge’s order

Speaking with reporters earlier this week, LSU coach Lane Kiffin called for athletes from the Class of 2022 to get a transfer portal window following a judge’s ruling. An injunction granted by a Colorado judge granted the class another year of eligibility for 2026-27.

After the initial order, Judge Charlotte Sweeneyclarified her preliminary injunction did not enjoin transfer rules, meaning a new window did not have to open. Kiffin said those athletes should be able to explore their options, and he doubled down on that stance during Thursday’s press conference.

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Kiffin reiterated the LSU staff is staying ready for whatever the changing landscape throws at them. He noted on Monday that the recruiting board saw significant changes now that the NCAA’s age-based, five-year eligibility rule is in place. But when it comes to those Class of 2022 members who can come back, he said the decision not to grant a portal window is not “fair.”

“Obviously, not a very clean system right now of how that is,” Kiffin said. “We just try to prepare. If it’s ruled that way and these guys can play and they can go everywhere, which I would think you have to. If someone’s going to rule them that they’re eligible to pla, and they get the year back, the 2022s, in fairness to them, how could you possibly limit them? How can you make them go back to a place that they may not know coaches? The place may not want them. They may have moved on with numbers.

“So to make them go back to one specific place or even not be able to move within a conference, that can’t be fair and certainly, it doesn’t seem to be legal to be able to do to the kids, especially at a last minute like this. Where are they going to go? They’ve got to go to one place and that place doesn’t want them, or doesn’t even know them, in some circumstances.”

Earlier this week, the NCAA’s motion to stay the injunction pending appeal was denied. In her decision, Sweeney said the lawsuits the governing body is facing are a product of its own doing, which led to the denial.

Meanwhile, the injunction remains in place as the NCAA goes through the appeals process. On Monday, before the motion in the U.S. District Court of Colorado was denied, the association filed a motion for a stay of the injunction directly in the Tenth Circuit.

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SEC commissioner Greg Sankey also issued a memo to member schools on Tuesday reaffirming the conference’s eligibility rules are still in place. That includes guidance related to intraconference transfers.

“Court filings and rulings related to the current NCAA eligibility landscape remain highly dynamic,” Sankey wrote Tuesday, via CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. “As these various court proceedings continue, institutions should operate under existing NCAA rules, interpretations, and applicable Conference rules unless and until otherwise advised by the NCAA, the Conference, or a court order. Recent court rulings should not be interpreted as creating broader eligibility relief beyond the scope of the applicable orders.

“In addition, SEC eligibility rules, including those relating to intraconference transfers, remain in effect until fully or individually waived, or the rule is changed. If your institution is presented with a fact-specific eligibility question, please coordinate with your compliance office and Conference staff before acting or making commitments based on an assumption regarding an individual’s eligibility.”