CHICAGO — The Big Ten and Southeastern Conference have drawn a firm line in the rapidly changing world of college athletics, adopting new rules designed to prevent players who have crossed into professional football from returning to college teams — a move that directly affects the Iowa Hawkeyes and could soon reach Iowa State and other major programs.
The Big Ten announced Tuesday that its schools unanimously adopted a conference eligibility rule prohibiting football players from competing at a Big Ten institution if they have signed a professional contract, appeared on a professional roster at any point or declared for the NFL Draft as an underclassman and failed to withdraw.
“The Big Ten Conference announced Tuesday the unanimous adoption of a conference rule to prohibit football players who have signed a professional contract, were on a professional roster at any point or declared for the NFL Draft as an underclassman without withdrawing, from maintaining eligibility for athletic competition at a conference institution,” the league said.
The conference added that it continues to evaluate possible restrictions on professional athletes attempting to return to college competition in other sports.
For Iowa football, the rule is effective immediately because the Hawkeyes are members of the Big Ten.
The SEC followed the Big Ten later Tuesday with an even broader policy, extending its prohibition beyond football and into men’s and women’s basketball.
Under the SEC rule, athletes who have been drafted by the NFL, NBA or WNBA, appeared on rosters in those leagues or signed certain professional contracts cannot return to compete at an SEC school. The policy also reaches players associated with the NBA G League.
That means the two most powerful conferences in college athletics — comprising 34 schools between them — are now attempting to establish a hard boundary between college and professional sports at a time when court rulings have increasingly blurred that line.
Court rulings opened a door few expected
The unusual controversy erupted from the NCAA’s ongoing battle over how long athletes should be permitted to compete in college.
In June, NCAA Division I leaders approved a significant eligibility overhaul that essentially moves college athletics toward a five-year model, giving athletes five years of eligibility while eliminating the traditional redshirt system.
Under the new approach, an athlete’s eligibility clock begins when the athlete turns 19 or enrolls in college, whichever comes first.
The problem involves athletes from the high school Class of 2022.
Many of those athletes entered college under the previous eligibility system, competed for four seasons and were considered finished after the 2025-26 academic year.
The NCAA did not broadly grandfather those athletes into the new five-year system.
That decision spawned lawsuits around the country, with players arguing that they should receive the same opportunity for a fifth season that younger athletes will receive under the NCAA’s new structure.
Several judges have agreed with individual athletes or groups of athletes, at least temporarily.
The result has been a patchwork of court orders in different states, with some players gaining another season while others remain ineligible.
A federal appeals court handed the NCAA an important victory August 21 when it temporarily blocked a broader Colorado ruling that could have opened the door for thousands of athletes from the Class of 2022 to return. But individual state-court cases have continued to produce different results.
Then came the development that set off alarm bells across college football.
Players went from NFL camps back to college
A Louisiana judge granted temporary relief to a group of players that included athletes who had already pursued professional football opportunities.
Among the most prominent were former Ole Miss players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris.
Both had pursued NFL opportunities after college. Wright spent time with the Cleveland Browns, while Harris had been with the New Orleans Saints before being released.
The court ruling gave them a path to seek another college season.
LSU coach Lane Kiffin quickly moved to bring the two players to Baton Rouge, arguing that if the courts deemed them eligible, there was little reason for LSU to voluntarily give up an opportunity other schools could exploit.
That created a scenario that until recently would have sounded almost impossible: an athlete could finish college football, sign with or appear on an NFL roster, go through professional training camp and then return to a major college football program.
The possibility triggered an immediate backlash from conference officials and administrators concerned about competitive balance, roster stability and the increasingly indistinct line between professional and college sports.
SEC rule could derail LSU additions
The SEC’s new policy appears aimed directly at preventing that situation.
The conference’s rule would make players such as Wright and Harris ineligible for SEC competition despite court rulings that may have restored their NCAA eligibility.
That sets up another potential legal confrontation.
A judge can prevent the NCAA from enforcing one of its eligibility rules, but the Big Ten and SEC are now asserting their own authority to determine who may compete within their conferences.
The SEC has authorized Commissioner Greg Sankey to enforce the policy against member institutions, while the Big Ten has also established penalties for schools that violate its rule.
Big Ten penalties reportedly can include a suspension of the head coach for half of the season along with financial punishment against the school.
The rules could therefore create a new legal question: Even if a court says an athlete remains eligible under NCAA rules, can a conference separately prohibit its member schools from using that athlete?
That issue may ultimately be decided in court as well.
Basketball is already caught in the fight
The controversy is not limited to football.
Former St. John’s basketball standout R.J. Luis Jr. obtained a court ruling allowing him to pursue another college season despite having been under professional contracts with NBA organizations.
He subsequently joined LSU.
The SEC’s newly adopted policy would also appear to prohibit athletes in that situation from competing.
Kentucky has faced a similar issue involving former Missouri basketball player Mark Mitchell, who sought another college season after participating with the Denver Nuggets during NBA Summer League under an Exhibit 10 contract.
The Big Ten, for now, has formally acted only in football but has made clear it is considering similar rules for other sports.
ACC, Big 12 and others looking at similar restrictions
The movement may not stop with the Big Ten and SEC.
The ACC and Big 12 are expected to discuss similar restrictions as college administrators attempt to prevent their conferences from becoming destinations for players returning from professional teams.
That is especially relevant in Iowa.
The University of Iowa is already covered by the Big Ten prohibition.
Iowa State, however, competes in the Big 12. As of Wednesday morning, the Big 12 had not announced a matching rule, but league officials were expected to discuss the issue.
The American Conference has also been considering a conference-wide restriction on players attempting to return from the NFL, according to reports.
If the ACC and Big 12 ultimately join the Big Ten and SEC, all four major conferences would effectively shut off the route from an NFL roster back to major college football.
For the moment, there has been no similar announcement from the Missouri Valley Football Conference affecting Northern Iowa.
Coaches say the system has become nearly impossible to follow
The controversy is another example of the instability that has reshaped college athletics in recent years.
Athletes can now transfer more freely, earn significant money through name, image and likeness arrangements and receive direct revenue-sharing payments from schools.
Court rulings have repeatedly struck down or weakened NCAA restrictions.
Eligibility disputes involving junior college participation, redshirts, medical waivers and the new five-year system have produced additional lawsuits.
The professional-return issue may be the point where conferences themselves begin taking a larger role in setting limits.
Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey have both pushed for stronger national standards governing college athletics.
Coaches have also expressed frustration with the lack of uniform rules.
TCU coach Sonny Dykes described the current college football structure as a “rudderless ship,” while Duke coach Manny Diaz argued that the major conferences need to act together when national rules are unclear.
College sports tries to redraw the professional line
For decades, one of the clearest concepts in college athletics was that once an athlete became a professional, his or her college career was finished.
NIL compensation and direct athlete payments have dramatically changed what it means to be a college athlete, but the Big Ten and SEC are signaling that they still believe there must be a point of no return.
Under their emerging model, earning money while playing college sports is one thing.
Signing with an NFL franchise, making a professional roster and then returning to college is another.
The Big Ten has now formally drawn that line in football.
The SEC has drawn it in football and basketball.
And with the ACC, Big 12 and other leagues considering their own action, what began as a handful of eligibility lawsuits could quickly produce a nationwide rule across the upper levels of college sports.