Former Oklahoma State Coach Les Miles Suing LSU Amid Hall of Fame Eligibility Concerns
Oklahoma State’s former coach has some hurdles to earn college football’s highest honor.
Former OSU coach Les Miles is suing Louisiana State University for vacating wins from his tenure as head coach. The 37 wins LSU vacated in 2023 stemmed from a former player receiving financial benefits that violated NCAA rules.
Miles is suing LSU for vacating the wins because those wins prevent him from eligibility for the College Football Hall of Fame. To meet eligibility for the Hall of Fame, coaches must have coached 100 games and have a .600 win percentage.
Without those wins, Miles sits at a win percentage of .597. His overall record went from 145-73, which was well over the mark needed to be eligible, to 108-73.
Miles began his head coaching career at OSU in 2001 and led the Cowboys to a 4-7 record his first season, including a memorable upset at Oklahoma in Bedlam to finish the season. He followed that with another Bedlam win in 2002 and winning records in each of his final three seasons at OSU.
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He finished his tenure at OSU with a 28-21 record before leaving for LSU in 2005. At LSU, Miles helped the Tigers win a BCS National Championship in 2007 and made another BCS Championship Game in 2011 before losing to Alabama.
Miles was fired by LSU four games into the 2016 season, leaving the school with a career coaching record of 142-55. Even with the vacated wins, Miles would have been eligible for the Hall of Fame if he never coached again. However, a three-season stint at Kansas tarnished his record.
Miles was fired by Kansas in March 2021 after accusations of inappropriate conduct toward female students. In his two seasons, Miles went 3-18, winning only one Big 12 game and losing to OSU in both years.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.