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08/25 18:45 CDT SEC joins Big Ten in banning pros from returning to college,
including basketball players
SEC joins Big Ten in banning pros from returning to college, including
basketball players
By EDDIE PELLS and ERIC OLSON
AP Sports Writers
The Southeastern Conference passed a rule Tuesday banning players who have been
drafted by NFL, NBA or WNBA teams or listed on rosters in those leagues,
joining the Big Ten in taking a strong stand against this month's unexpected
surge of pro players trying to return to college.
The SEC's rule differs from the one adopted by the Big Ten, which only included
football in its decision released earlier in the day.
Combined, it leaves little doubt about where the nation's two biggest
conferences stand in the wake of court orders that were allowing players who
had been on pro rosters, then released, to return back to college.
The SEC rule puts LSU on notice. This week, Tigers coach Lane Kiffin added
Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, a pair of undrafted players out of
Mississippi who had tryouts in the NFL over the summer, but were released by
their teams during training camp.
The rule would also apply to basketball player R.J. Luis, who Monday won a
court ruling that allowed him to sign with Will Wade's program at LSU despite
having briefly been under contract with the Jazz and Celtics of the NBA.
There was no immediate comment from LSU.
The Big Ten's penalties for violating its rule include a half-season suspension
for the head coach and a fine to the school. The SEC did not immediately
divulge its penalties.
The burst of rulemaking marked the latest chapter in a remarkable month for
college sports, which was suddenly faced with the once-unthinkable but now
court-approved return to college of players who had signed and sometimes played
for professional teams.
"I feel like I took a freaking gummy," said Sean McVay, the coach of the Los
Angeles Rams, when asked about the prospect of a player he released returning
to college. "I don't even understand it."
Kiffin was much more in tune with the change, suggesting in a news conference
Monday that if LSU didn't take such players, other teams certainly would. Now,
nobody can --- at least not among the 34 teams that make up the two biggest
leagues in college and play an outsize role in spearheading policy across the
industry.
Another Power Four league, the Atlantic Coast Conference, was set to discuss
the issue Wednesday.
They are reacting to a series of losses in state courts around the country,
where judges are granting players who graduated high school in 2022 a fifth
year of eligibility. In June, the NCAA passed a rule giving most players five
years to finish five seasons of eligibility in college, but did not grandfather
in the Class of '22.
Hundreds of those players saw their fourth --- and supposedly final --- year of
eligibility run out last spring. They are arguing in courts that they're being
denied educational opportunities and the chance to earn name, image and
likeness money that they could get in a fifth year.
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AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard and Stephen Hawkins and AP freelance writer Dan
Greenspan contributed to this report.
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