BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal from a former LSU football coach who said he was unfairly fired after admitting to recruiting violations that occurred during the coronavirus pandemic.

LSU said James Cregg had acknowledged conducting off-campus recruiting visits during the COVID-19 dead period in 2020. Cregg had said the visits were not pre-arranged, and that LSU let him go before it or the NCAA had made any formal finding that he broke recruiting rules.

A Baton Rouge-based state judge previously ruled for Cregg and ordered LSU to pay him nearly $500,000, but in March the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that LSU was within its rights to fire Cregg for cause. Without comment, the state Supreme Court voted 6-1 Wednesday to let that decision stand.

After Cregg’s firing, the NCAA’s infractions committee said Cregg had provided directions to his location and, therefore, couldn’t argue that the meetings with a recruit were not pre-arranged.

The 1st Circuit ruling said the improper contact occurred during the September 2020 “COVID dead period” in which no in-person visits were allowed. A prospective athlete’s mother said she was looking to move into Cregg’s neighborhood and Cregg said they could “stop by.”

Cregg met with the family and gave the athlete a bag of LSU gear. A second meeting occurred outside Cregg’s home. Cregg initially told the NCAA he had had no contact with the athlete, but requested a second meeting with the college sports governing board and subsequently admitted to it.

Part of Cregg’s argument against his firing was that LSU had already decided to hire his replacement before he was let go in the summer of 2021, in violation of his $700,000-a-year contract. LSU President William F. Tate IV wrote to Cregg and said he had no case.

“Although you complain of the timing of Brad Davis’ hire, such is irrelevant to your misconduct in September 2020 and your failure to truthfully respond during the NCAA interview in May 2021,” Tate wrote.

The appeals court said Cregg’s contract made no reference to LSU being prohibited from hiring a replacement while Cregg fought his dismissal. The three-judge panel also noted that LSU was without an offensive line coach and that hiring someone in a timely manner was “prudent.”

Cregg was with LSU during its 2019 national championship season and this year will coach the offensive line for the Las Vegas Raiders. He was assistant line coach with the San Francisco 49ers for two years.