Former LSU coach Les Miles is suing the school for vacating wins in response to an NCAA infractions case, "a move that dropped Miles below the threshold for College Football Hall of Fame qualification," Adam Rittenberg of ESPN reported.
Miles coached LSU from 2005-16 and also named the NCAA and National Football Foundation in the suit. The NFF manages the College Football Hall.
"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.," Rittenberg wrote.
The 37 wins vacated by LSU dropped Miles' overall record from 145-73 to 108-73. That decreased his win percentage from .665 to .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," Rittenberg wrote. "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."
So yeah, those vacated victories are just enough to keep him from the fall. Maybe LSU can just end all this by vacating like 33 wins. Would anyone really care? Then Miles could get into the Hall and the suit could be dropped.
Then again, it could be dismissed, anyway. It's not like being absent from the College Football Hall of Fame is hurting Miles' pocketbook — only his "legacy."
"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,'" Rittenberg wrote. "The IARP placed LSU on three years' probation. LSU had previously imposed a postseason ban in football for the 2020-21 season."
