Former LSU coach Les Miles is suing his former employer for vacating wins as a response to NCAA infractions that occurred during the end of his tenure with the school.
Miles' suit alleges that LSU deprived him of property rights associated with his vacated wins and his potential nomination for the College Football Hall of Fame. He needs a winning percentage of .600 to qualify for that honor. Without the vacated wins, his all-time winning percentage is just .597.
Miles also filed against the NCAA and the National Football Foundation, which manages the College Football Hall of Fame, as part of his lawsuit.
Here's what to know about Miles' vacated wins and how it has impacted his legacy to date.
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Why did LSU vacate wins?
LSU vacated wins from 2012 to 2015 because of impermissible benefits provided to the father of offensive lineman Vadal Alexander.
James Alexander received $180,000 from LSU booster John Paul Funes while Alexander's son played for the Tigers, per The Baton Rouge Advocate.
The money Alexander received had been stolen from the Our Lady of the Lake Foundation, part of a children's hospital in Baton Rouge. Funes was in charge of the foundation and admitted he embezzled $550,000 of its funds.
Alexander — who went on to become a seventh-round pick of the Raiders in 2016 — was retroactively ruled ineligible because of these impermissible benefits. As a result, all wins accrued by LSU during Alexander's time on the team were vacated.
The vacated football wins were among the penalties handed to LSU's football and men's basketball programs by the NCAA's Independent Accountability Resolution Process. The school accepted the penalties.
However, Miles' lawsuit argues 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."
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How many wins did LSU vacate when Les Miles was coach?
LSU vacated 37 wins during Miles' tenure because of Alexander's ineligibility. The Tigers posted a record of 37-12 between 2012 and 2015, including back-to-back 10-3 seasons in the lineman's first two seasons with the program.
Miles does not vacate the 12 losses he accrued during that four-year stretch, which dropped his career winning percentage below the critical mark of .600. That will prevent him from making it into the College Football Hall of Fame, which is likely what prompted his lawsuit.
Les Miles career record
Miles has an official career record of 108-73 from his time at Oklahoma State, LSU, and Kansas. That's good for a career winning percentage of .597.
Before his 37 wins from 2012 to 2015 were vacated, he had a 145-73 record. His winning percentage of .665 was well above the threshold needed to get him into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Miles earned most of his victories at LSU, with only 31 combined coming from his six combined years at Oklahoma State and Kansas. Below is a look at his year-by-year results and his full record by school.
| Year | School | Record |
| 2001 | Oklahoma State | 4-7 |
| 2002 | Oklahoma State | 8-5 |
| 2003 | Oklahoma State | 9-4 |
| 2004 | Oklahoma State | 7-5 |
| 2005 | LSU | 11-2 |
| 2006 | LSU | 11-2 |
| 2007 | LSU | 12-2 |
| 2008 | LSU | 8-5 |
| 2009 | LSU | 9-4 |
| 2010 | LSU | 11-2 |
| 2011 | LSU | 13-1 |
| 2012 | LSU | 10-3* |
| 2013 | LSU | 10-3* |
| 2014 | LSU | 8-5* |
| 2015 | LSU | 9-3* |
| 2016 | LSU | 2-2 |
| 2019 | Kansas | 3-9 |
| 2020 | Kansas | 0-9 |
| Record | — | 145-73 |
| Record after vacated wins | — | 108-73 |
* Wins vacated due to impermissible benefits paid to Vadal Alexander's father.
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Les Miles record by school
| Years | School | Record |
| 2001-04 | Oklahoma State | 28-21 |
| 2005-16 | LSU | 77-34* |
| 2019-20 | Kansas | 3-18 |
| Career | — | 108-73 |
* Miles had a 114-34 record before LSU vacated 37 wins from 2012-15.
It will be interesting to see if Miles can make a convincing argument to restore his wins or at least make him eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame. Perhaps he will argue he wouldn't have taken the Kansas job had he known he was dancing on the .600 winning percentage threshold to be eligible for the Hall of Fame.
Either way, the 70-year-old Miles is back in the spotlight four years after he last coached a game and eight years after his departure from LSU. If he doesn't win his case, it will be intriguing to see if he considers a return to coaching in an attempt to once again become eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame.
