Les Miles Is Suing LSU And The NCAA For The Return Of Vacated Wins That Prevent CFB Hall Of Fame Consideration

Former LSU head coach Les Miles has decided to take the Tigers to court over vacated wins stemming from an NCAA investigation that would keep him out of the College Football Hall of Fame. 

In a lawsuit filed on Monday morning, the former Tigers coach is suing LSU over the wins that were vacated because of the NCAA investigation into Vadal Alexander, who played for the Tigers from 2012-2015. 

The case stems from Alexander's father receiving over $180,000 from a booster associated with the program, who funneled the money given to the father from a local Baton Rouge children’s hospital. In a move to get the NCAA to go soft on the program when it came to penalties, LSU self-imposed a postseason ban, while also reducing scholarships. 

But, the additional penalty that LSU decided on is the key to this lawsuit. Going before the NCAA IARP committee, the Tigers needed a little extra juice to persuade the group that the punishment fit the crime. So, the school vacated 37 wins that occurred under Les Miles, which dropped his career record to 108-73, which is under the .600 career winning percentage needed to qualify for the College Football Hall of Fame. 

To read the full lawsuit, click here. 

BATON ROUGE, LA - NOVEMBER 28:  Head coach Les Miles of the LSU Tigers celebrates after defeating the Texas A&M Aggies 19-7 at Tiger Stadium on November 28, 2015 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

In the court filing, lawyers for Les Miles argue that the school did not hear the former head coach's side before making the decision. 

"Despite that clear moral, legal, and Constitutional mandate, Defendants stripped Les Miles—indisputably one of the most esteemed college football coaches in the history of the State of Louisiana—of his established eligibility for the College Football Hall of Fame without an opportunity to be heard," the filing reads. 

It should be noted that the NCAA and the National Football Association are also listed as defendants in the lawsuit filed. 

The investigation into LSU athletics also dealt with the Will Wade situation, which ultimately led to his firing as the Tigers head coach. Regarding Les Miles, his attorneys argue that only one of three violations uncovered by enforcement staff members were during the time that he was head coach at LSU. 

"Only one of the three violations found by the NCAA occurred while Miles was Head Coach of the LSU Tigers. Specifically, the NCAA found that an outside booster of the football program—who was not employed by LSU and who had no formal or informal position with the football program—provided impermissible financial benefits to the parents of a football player," attorneys noted in the lawsuit. 

All of this turned out to be a Level II violation for LSU, which was failing to monitor the activities of its boosters. 

Les Miles Wants His Wins Back, And A Shot At CFB HOF

When LSU decided it would add the penalty of vacating wins from the Les Miles era, the agreement between the NCAA and the school prevented the former head coach from using any of the vacated wins for consideration of future awards, including the Hall of Fame. 

The lawsuit makes a point that when LSU decided to vacate football wins, they did not do the same when it came to the basketball program, while also not retracting any wins from the overall record of Will Wade. 

So, it comes down to LSU doing one thing for its basketball program, and not doing the same for the football program, in terms of the win/loss record. 

"Accordingly, had the LSU Defendants not proposed to vacate a substantial number of wins in an effort to mitigate NCAA penalties, had the NCAA not accepted that proposal, and had the NFF not acquiesced in and accepted that proposal, Miles would be eligible for nomination to the College Football Hall of Fame,' the filing noted. 

Les Miles is suing LSU and the NCAA over vacated wins stemming from investigation into Tigers Booster and football program  (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

In regard to what Les Miles wants from this lawsuit against LSU, the NCAA and the NFA, it comes down to three things. 

• Declare that Les Miles is indeed eligible for nomination.
• Rule that the vacated wins will be considered wins for the purpose of the CFB HOF
• "Declaring that any agreement between or among Defendants not to consider the vacated wins in determining Plaintiff’s eligibility for nomination and admission to the College Football Hall of Fame or for any other honor is void and unenforceable"

We will see if this gains any traction in the court system, but Les Miles is arguing that he did not agree to these penalties when the NCAA and LSU agreed to them, and that he did not get to plea his case. 

Now, sitting at 0.3% below the average needed to be considered for the hall of fame, Les Miles wants his 37 wins that were vacated to now be acknowledged. If the court did decide to rule in favor of Miles, his overall record would be 143-73, with a percentage of .665%. 

At the end of this whole ordeal, if Les Miles somehow wins this case, putting him into the Hall Of Fame would be the right move, if we're basing it off on-field production. The off-field stuff, which includes being fired by Kansas after a report regarding sexual harassment allegations against him while at LSU could be a major problem even if the court decides to give him back the 37 wins. 

Just another day in college football, and I'm fascinated to see where this goes from here.