SEC, Big Ten Adopt Rules Blocking Former Pro Athletes From College Sports

The SEC and Big Ten have adopted new eligibility rules barring certain athletes with professional ties from returning to college competition, creating a new layer of restrictions as courts continue to reshape NCAA eligibility rules.

Both conferences acted Tuesday, August 25, days after a Louisiana judge temporarily cleared a group of athletes seeking another season of college competition. The group included football players who had already signed professional contracts or appeared on NFL rosters.

The Big Ten rule currently applies only to football. It prohibits players from competing at conference schools if they have signed a professional contract, appeared on a professional roster at any point, or declared for the NFL Draft as an underclassman without properly withdrawing.

The SEC adopted a broader policy covering football and basketball. Its schools cannot roster athletes who failed to properly withdraw after declaring for the NFL, NBA, or WNBA drafts, signed contracts with professional football leagues, the NBA, G League, or WNBA, or appeared on professional rosters.

The policies create an additional obstacle for athletes who obtain court relief against the NCAA. A judge could prevent the NCAA from declaring a player ineligible while an SEC or Big Ten rule separately prevents that athlete from competing at one of the conference's schools.

Conference leaders have argued that allowing athletes to return after entering professional sports would blur the line between college and professional competition and reduce opportunities for current players and incoming recruits. Big Ten schools and coaches can face penalties for violating its rule, while SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has been given authority to enforce his conference's policy.

The immediate dispute grew out of an August 19 ruling in Louisiana. Judge William Jorden of the state's 19th Judicial District Court issued a temporary restraining order protecting a group of athletes seeking an additional year of eligibility, including 16 football players.

Several had already entered the NFL system. The order temporarily prevented the NCAA from enforcing its professional contract restriction against the athletes before the court, provided they ended their professional contracts and returned professional compensation before competing in college. It also allowed them to enter the transfer portal outside its normal window.

LSU quickly became one of the clearest examples of what the ruling could mean. Coach Lane Kiffin pursued former Ole Miss players Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris after both spent time with NFL teams.

Wright had been with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns, while Harris was waived by the New Orleans Saints. Their possible return raised the prospect of an athlete spending part of the summer pursuing an NFL career, being released, and then returning to college for another season.

The eligibility fight stems from a broader NCAA rule change adopted in June. The new system generally allows Division I athletes five seasons of competition during a five-year eligibility period, but many athletes from the high school Class of 2022 were left outside the change after exhausting the four seasons permitted under the previous rules.

That led athletes around the country to seek another year in court. In Colorado, a federal judge issued a class-wide preliminary injunction on July 31 that would have allowed thousands of affected athletes to return for a fifth season, although the ruling did not override separate restrictions involving professional contracts.

The NCAA appealed, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit stayed the injunction on August 21 while the case continues. That stopped the nationwide order from taking effect but did not eliminate separate state court cases brought by individual athletes.

The issue has also reached college basketball. Former St. John's player R.J. Luis Jr. obtained a preliminary injunction in Louisiana on August 24 after the NCAA found him ineligible because he had signed a professional two-way contract. The ruling temporarily cleared a path for Luis to play at LSU, but the SEC's new policy creates a separate conference restriction.

At least one of the broader federal challenges argues that excluding the Class of 2022 violates antitrust law. In general, those laws prohibit rules or agreements that unlawfully restrict competition, and the athletes argue that eligibility limits can affect their ability to compete for roster spots, scholarships, and name, image, and likeness earnings.

The new conference policies raise a separate issue because court orders directed at the NCAA do not automatically invalidate rules adopted by an athletic conference. As of August 26, no court had ruled on whether the SEC or Big Ten restrictions themselves could be enforced.

The NFL has also responded to the possibility of players returning to college. The league said a player who leaves professional football to play in college during the 2026 season will not be permitted to sign with another NFL team for the remainder of that season.

A Louisiana court hearing is scheduled for August 31 to consider whether the temporary protections granted to the group of athletes should remain in place. The SEC and Big Ten rules remain in effect as the separate disputes over NCAA eligibility continue.