Louisiana judge dismisses Les Miles lawsuit against LSU over vacated wins

A Louisiana judge dismissed a lawsuit from former LSU football coach Les Miles against the school, the NCAA and National Football Foundation, The Advocate reported on Monday. The lawsuit was over a decision to vacate 37 wins from Miles’ 12-year tenure with the Tigers, which made him ineligible for the College Football Hall of Fame.

District Judge Ronald Johnson was the one to issue the ruling inside the 19th Judicial District Courthouse. Miles’ attorney, Peter Ginsberg, said that they could potentially consider appealing the decision.

Miles sued in September of 2024, which was more than a year after LSU vacated the wins as part of an NCAA investigation. The Tigers self-imposed the penalty because the father of former offensive lineman Vadal Alexander allegedly received roughly $180,000 from a booster during his career from 2012-15.

Prior to having the wins vacated, Miles owned a 145-73 record across 18 seasons as a coach at Oklahoma State, LSU and Kansas. Subtracting 37 from the win column brings that to 108-73 (.597), which puts him just under the requirement of having a .600 winning percentage to be considered for the Hall of Fame.

The lawsuit sought a declaratory judgment that would have allowed the vacated wins to be considered in Miles’ nomination for the Hall of Fame. His attorneys attorneys argued his right to due process was violated when LSU vacated the wins and that doing so breached his contract from when he was LSU’s coach.

Miles led LSU to a national championship in 2007 and also finished runner up in 2011. He was fired from the school four games into the 2016 season and later took the job at Kansas in 2019. Miles led the Jayhawks to a 3-18 record in two seasons before LSU released a report alleging that Miles had acted inappropriately with female student workers during his tenure. KU fired him three days later and he has not coached since.

Because Miles is 71 years old, he meets the age requirement to be immediately eligible for the Hall of Fame. His attorneys argued Monday that the vacated wins should not make him ineligible and cited that 15% of inductees have received exceptions.

However, the Hall of Fame also states that a candidate’s “post-football record as a citizen is also weighed.” LSU, the NCAA and NFF all also claimed that Miles submitted his claims two months after the one-year deadline in Louisiana and that Miles did not have facts to back up that he had not received due process.