Lane Kiffin gets loud welcome at LSU basketball game as Ole Miss plays Georgia in CFP quarterfinal

New LSU football coach Lane Kiffin was welcomed with thunderous applause at Thursday’s women’s basketball game as he walked onto the court at Pete Maravich Assembly Center with Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey. 

A little more than an hour away in New Orleans, Ole Miss, the team Kiffin abandoned to take the gig at LSU, was taking on Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Kiffin opted to appear at the Tigers women’s basketball game after reportedly considering taking in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry. 

The polarizing football coach walked out with Mulkey, the pair holding hands, and waved to the crowd in Baton Rouge. Mulkey raised her left arm in the air and pointed to Kiffin as the crowd cheered before raising both of their arms. 

On top of the report that Kiffin might watch the Sugar Bowl, On3’s Chris Low reported that Kiffin had reached out to ESPN to appear for a segment on the broadcast of the game, but the Worldwide Leader wasn’t receptive to the idea. 

New LSU Football Head Coach Lane Kiffin is introduced to the crowd with Women’s Basketball Head Coach Kim Mulkey prior to NCAA Women’s Basketball game action between the Kentucky Wildcats and the LSU Tigers at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, LA. Jonathan Mailhes/CSM/Shutterstock

While Kiffin wasn’t at the game, he did wade into the discussion about it online, chirping ESPN for all of the “College GameDay” panelists picking Georgia over Ole Miss. 

“What are you guys thinking?!?!?” he wrote in an X post. 

Kiffin’s split from Ole Miss was messy to say the least. 

The football coach drew out the process, eventually announcing his decision to take the job at LSU, while claiming that athletic director Keith Carter denied him the chance to coach the Rebels in the CFP “despite the team also asking him to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance.” 

However, Kiffin’s claims have been disputed by multiple Rebels players on social media, and Carter shot back that Kiffin had known for weeks that he wouldn’t be able to coach Ole Miss in the postseason if he decided to leave. 

Trinidad Chambliss of the Ole Miss Rebels directs his team during the second quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs during the 2025 College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome on January 01, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Getty Images

Kiffin takes over an LSU football program that is looking to rebound after the firing of Brian Kelly in the middle of the season. 

Kiffin signed a seven-year deal with an average annual salary of roughly $13 million. 

Before leaving, Kiffin coached the Rebels to an 11-1 regular season, the best ever for the program.