BATON ROUGE — In emails obtained by WBRZ, LSU President Wade Rousse told Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey that he would not attend a meeting with other member schools' presidents and chancellors at the advice of legal counsel, but still remained committed to the conference.

Item No. 3 on the Sep. 10 meeting agenda was "Address the Current Matters Impacting Conference Self-Governance," a reference to lawsuits filed by athletes against the SEC and NCAA in an attempt to gain a fifth year of eligibility despite having been affiliated with NFL teams during the offseason.  

A federal lawsuit subsequently filed by the SEC against members of LSU leadership and Louisiana state government alleged a "lack of institutional control" over the football program and said that SEC leaders would consider booting LSU from the conference at the meeting.

Rousse emailed Sankey at 8 a.m. the morning of the meeting, saying that he had been advised by legal counsel not to attend the meeting due to the pending federal suit. 

"LSU wants to remain fully engaged in the conference and participate constructively in today’s meeting," Rousse wrote. "However, because of the pending federal litigation naming several LSU personnel individually, I have been advised by counsel that we should not participate in discussions related to these matters without our attorney present."

LSU ultimately opted not to roster the players in question. The SEC did not expel LSU, nor did it place any penalties upon the school.