Battle Lines Drawn…

August 26, 2026 - UPDATE: BIG-12 joins B1G & SEC in ban

The Big-12 Conference on Tuesday joined the Big Ten and SEC in banning professional athletes from returning to college to play college sports.

On Wednesday morning, ESPN’s Pete Hamel reported… “ACC athletic directors met today (Wednesday) and there’s momentum for the ACC to join the Big Ten and SEC in banning NFL players, per ESPN sources. Still a few more steps, including ACC Board approval. There’s momentum that the ACC will join those leagues. The goal for the ACC board to meet in next 24 hours for approval.”

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August 25, 2026 - Both the SEC and Big Ten conferences released statement on college athletes’ eligibility after turning professional.

On Monday, SEC presidents and chancellors held a video conference on the issue and released the following statement.

"Allowing that to occur will blur the line between college and professional sports, create significant competitive equity concerns, and reduce opportunities for high school and current college athletes.

"College sports are for college athletes. The current confusion around national eligibility standards emphasizes the need to advance the Protect College Sports Act.”

On Tuesday, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported the Big Ten is set to pass a rule Tuesday that doesn't allow players to return from the NFL and play fin their conference. According to an ESPN source, any player who has declared for the NFL draft and did not withdraw, appeared on an NFL roster or signed a contract with a pro league cannot be on a Big Ten roster.

The NCAA released the following statement on Tuesday.

"Courts across the country granting relief to ineligible athletes who already had every opportunity to compete in college -- sometimes without even having a hearing -- are failing to appreciate the destabilizing effect their rulings are having on college sports.”

"The lawyers bringing these cases seemingly won't be satisfied until every professional athlete can treat college sports as a fallback option, regardless of the opportunities it strips from both those who will never have a chance to begin their collegiate sports experience and those who are currently on campus working out with the team and attending classes. Thankfully, Congress can right this wrong by passing the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act and ensure student-athletes can have a level playing field with rules that apply fairly to everyone.”

The ACC will reportedly address the issue later this week. No statement yet from the Big-12 Conference.

BOTTOM LINE:

The battle lines have been drawn. Court battles are likely in the near future. Chaos continues to reign in college athletics.

GO CANES!