Former LSU coach Les Miles is suing LSU after vacated wins dropped Miles below the threshold for Hall of Fame qualification.
Miles, who coached LSU from 2005 to 2016, also named the NCAA and the National Football Foundation, which manages the College Football Hall of Fame, as defendants. The lawsuit states he was deprived of property rights to the vacated wins and his nomination for the Hall of Fame, which must be done by those affiliated with an NCAA member school.
In 2023, LSU vacated 37 wins because of recruiting violations stemming from impermissible benefits paid to the father of former player Vadal Alexander by a former booster. The wins coincided with Alexander’s playing career from 2012 to 2015 under Miles, who went 37-12 during the stretch. The vacated football wins were announced alongside other penalties for LSU’s football and men’s basketball programs by the NCAA’s Independent Accountability Resolution Process.
The 37 vacated wins dropped Miles’ overall record from 145-73, a winning percentage of .665, to 108-73, a winning percentage of .597. Coaches must have a career winning percentage of .600 in at least 100 games to qualify for selection to the College Football Hall of Fame. Miles, 70, helped LSU to a national championship in 2007 and won two SEC titles at the school. He also led programs at Oklahoma State and Kansas.
According to the lawsuit, LSU’s “decision not to provide Miles with any form of due process was made in agreement with the NCAA, and in furtherance of the LSU Defendants’ negotiations with the NCAA concerning additional and more-severe penalties that otherwise likely would have been imposed on LSU and its athletics program.” The IARP placed LSU on three years’ probation. LSU had previously imposed a postseason ban in football for the 2020-21 season.