BATON ROUGE — A Louisiana appellate court has sided with several athletes fighting for a fifth year of college eligibility, reaffirming a decision made in Baton Rouge court earlier in September.

The First Court of Appeals' decision, issued Monday, denies the SEC and Commissioner Greg Sankey's applications for appeal. 

"An order or judgment relating to a preliminary injunction shall not be suspended during the pendency of an appeal unless the court in its discretion so orders," the decision says. "Relators have not shown an abuse of that discretion by the district court."

On Sept. 3, 19th JDC Judge William Jorden ruled in favor of the players, paving the way for the athletes to play in their fifth year of eligibility.

Despite being granted the ability to roster multiple players who participated in NFL activities, including Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and Blake Cotton, none of these players were placed on LSU's roster. 

Before LSU's 105-player roster was set for the season, the SEC, which filed a lawsuit against LSU, considered removing the Tigers from the conference over the dispute. LSU has since set its roster without the contested players and tensions between the conference and Louisiana's flagship university have since cooled.