College Sports Commission brings finality to LSU investigation with no disciplinary action taken
The CSC was looking into NIL deals for athletes at LSU and how they were being reported
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LSU has cleared its NIL reporting inquiry from the College Sports Commission with no disciplinary action taken against the Tigers, the school said in a statement this week. The CSC was investigating LSU, and others, for unreported NIL agreements which must be filed on the NIL Go platform within five days of becoming final.
LSU was one of several college football programs to receive a letter of inquiry asking for further details on various NIL contracts.
"The CSC inquiry into non-reporting has been resolved with no disciplinary action, and any deals that require submission to NIL Go have been submitted," LSU wrote in a statement Monday. "We appreciate the CSC's prompt review and resolution."
The Athletic was first to report last month that LSU received an email sent on Jan. 15 from the CSC's head of investigations, Katie B. Medearis, addressed to athletic director Verge Ausberry. The note was to inform LSU that the CSC was investigating whether they "failed to report one or more third-party Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals."
At the time, the CSC requested a phone call with Ausberry or the LSU compliance staff, per The Athletic.
NOLA.com reported the investigation was not related to the football program, despite first-year coach Lane Kiffin and the Tigers signing the nation's top-ranked transfer portal class. That includes sizable agreements with many of this cycle's top-available players, including former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt, whom LSU wrestled away from various other suitors.
The CSC was formed by power conferences last year to govern revenue sharing and verify NIL deals under the new rules set by the House settlement in 2024. In November, the CSC sent a "participation agreement" to all four major conferences within college football that allows the CSC to enforce agreed upon rules, prevents schools from circumventing the system to sue over enforcement decisions and requires annual audits of all schools that spent 75% or more of the annual revenue share number, among other measures.
The creation of the CSC is meant to bring stability within college athletics during an era that's suddenly filled with lawsuits, which make the enforcement of NCAA rules nearly impossible.
NIL Go is an online portal for how third-party NIL deals are reported and later evaluated for compliance. NIL Go determines the validity of contracts for a "valid business purpose" and ensures they "do not exceed a reasonable range of compensation." After agreed upon NIL deals are reviewed, NIL Go offers student-athletes the opportunity to revise terms and resubmit, cancel the deal or appeal to neutral arbitration if the terms are flagged.
