Verge Ausberry calls for unity in SEC after Lane Kiffin comments: 'We have to be one'

Following comments made by LSU head coach Lane Kiffin, Tigers athletics director Verge Ausberry called for unity in the SEC. He said the conference needs to come together in the best interest of the conference.

Kiffin made waves after comments made in a Vanity Fair interview about the differences in recruiting at LSU and his previous stop at Ole Miss. He cited concerns about diversity in Oxford, which he doesn’t necessarily hear in Baton Rouge, and the remarks sparked a wave of backlash. Kiffin later addressed the remarks in an exclusive interview with On3’s Wilson Alexander.

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Speaking with ESPN’s Heather Dinich at the SEC’s spring meetings, Ausberry said he has a simple message at LSU. He wants the focus to be solely on the Tigers and while SEC teams square off on the field, they need to work together away from the gridiron.

“It’s not about the other place you were at before, the other schools in this conference,” Ausberry told ESPN. “In the SEC we have to be one. Every other organization from NASCAR, to the NFL, NBA, they’re one.

“We fight each other on the fields: Saturday nights, basketball games, baseball weekends, track and field, that’s when we compete. After that, this is one. When you start breaking up and doing our own things, that hurts our conference.”

During the SEC’s meetings in Destin this week, the expectation was that Kiffin’s comments would come up as conference officials got together. However, commissioner Greg Sankey did not say whether the league would issue a fine or anything other form of reprimand.

“You’ll find out when everyone else finds out,” Sankey said, via On3’s Brett McMurphy. “I don’t make those announcements at podiums.”

New Ole Miss coach Pete Golding also received a question about Lane Kiffin’s remarks. He told reporters he didn’t have much to say about the comments, but also noted his personal relationship with his former boss.

“I really don’t have a response to it,” Golding said. “I mean, obviously, there’s a Lane side for us that we’re buddies and our friends, and then there’s professional side that I have to get on his ass, you know? But I think, you know, every time he gets in front of a camera, they’re bringing up Ole Miss and all that. I think, you know, the breakup wasn’t perfect. I don’t think any of them ever will be.

“But … for some of the last … comments that he made, I think anybody that’s been to Oxford, you know, knows that’s not where we’re at right now. I’ve lived all over the southeast, we all got our own issues, you know, but I think the biggest thing is make sure people come to Oxford and see for themselves.”