There were rumors that Lane Kiffin would make an appearance at the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night where his former team Ole Miss is facing Georgia for a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
However, the head football coach ended up staying back at his new school LSU to support the women’s basketball team. He made quite the dramatic entrance by holding hands with basketball coach Kim Mulkey. The crowd erupted as Kiffin walked on the court.
LSU’s X account posted a pretty pointed caption with the video: “LSU Is The Place To Be.”
LSU Is The Place To Be pic.twitter.com/a4MaBn6YeC
— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) January 2, 2026
That’s one way to squash the rumors.
Kiffin isn’t too far from the Sugar Bowl as the game is being played in New Orleans, which is just over an hour away from Baton Rouge. Still, it appears that he won’t be popping up in Caesars Superdome like some expected.
Kiffin did tweet about his former Rebels earlier on Thursday when ESPN’s College GameDay crew all voted for Georgia to beat Ole Miss. “What are you guys thinking?!?!?” he wrote geared toward the crew’s choices. It’s obvious he’s still rooting for his former team after leading them to an 11-win season before taking the LSU job.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lane Kiffin Notably Attends LSU Women’s Basketball Game Instead of Sugar Bowl.
