BATON ROUGE — LSU's governing board on Friday authorized the new university president to formally send a notice of termination to Brian Kelly, three weeks after the school's then-athletic director publicly announced the football coach's departure.

Kelly sued the school Nov. 10, saying that while he was told in October that he was being fired for his team's performance, school administrators had changed their course and now intended to fire him "for cause," which would negate a $54 million payout. A firing "for cause" would require certain steps from LSU, including a formal notice to the coach.

The Board of Supervisors met in secret for 26 minutes Friday to discuss Kelly's lawsuit, then took up one sole motion from Athletics Committee chair John Carmouche: "I move to authorize the president, in consultation with the general counsel, to review and if appropriate, send Brian Kelly written notice of termination under his employment agreement."

Afterward, the supervisors quickly adjourned. President Wade Rousse and the board members declined interview requests.

Kelly, in his lawsuit, says that despite his high-profile dismissal Oct. 26, LSU now claims that then-Athletic Director Scott Woodward did not formally fire him after an embarrassing loss to Texas A&M, because Woodward was not properly authorized to do so.

The coach's employment contract requires certain steps LSU must take if the university wanted to fire him for cause and avoid what would be the second-largest football coach contract buyout in history.  

According to public records obtained by WBRZ, since 2015 the university has paid out $43 million to athletics department officials who no longer work for the school, including nearly $17 million for ex-football coach Ed Orgeron and $4.75 million to former football coach Les Miles.

Kelly's lawsuit says LSU was required to give Kelly prior written notice and also state a reason for the firing within seven days, but that LSU did not do those things. 

Under Kelly's deal with LSU, the school could fire Kelly for cause due to various behavioral issues, including NCAA rule violations, crimes or "serious misconduct" that "constitutes moral turpitude." The lawsuit says Kelly "never engaged in any such conduct."

In the week following Kelly's firing, LSU fired Woodward, after Gov. Jeff Landry said Woodward wouldn't be involved in hiring a new coach.