College athletics’ latest mess: Court orders say athletes can play, but SEC and Big Ten ready to fight
The Southeastern Conference and Big Ten have introduced new eligibility guidelines aimed at barring athletes with professional sports experience from competing in college sport, directly clashing with recent court injunctions and temporary restraining orders that allowed several such players to join teams this season. The move, expected to be followed by the ACC and Big 12, sets up a legal confrontation with the NCAA and affected players, as attorneys representing athletes argue the conferences' actions place the NCAA in contempt of court and amount to "cartel-like conduct".
Under the new rules, any athlete who has signed with a professional team, declared for the NFL Draft or attended a professional training camp will be ineligible for conference competition, with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey empowered to enforce the policy through fines and coach suspensions. The dispute largely stems from NCAA eligibility guidelines granting athletes five years to play five seasons, which have prompted a wave of lawsuits and court rulings in multiple states. LSU coach Lane Kiffin, who has recruited players including former Ole Miss athletes with NFL experience, defended the approach by arguing such players would simply join rival schools if he did not sign them, while player representatives say they are preparing further legal action against both the NCAA and the conferences.
- SEC and Big Ten bar pro-experienced athletes despite court rulings allowing them to play
- Move sets up legal clash with NCAA and player attorneys over contempt claims
- LSU's Lane Kiffin defends recruiting such players amid the eligibility chaos
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College football's postseason and roster rules are colliding with the courts. Some athletes who have played professionally, in sports like American football, have been allowed by judges to join college teams this season while lawsuits over their eligibility play out. Now two of the sport's biggest conferences, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Big Ten, have brought in their own rules to stop this happening, even though it means going against what those courts have already decided.
The disagreement centres on how long athletes are allowed to compete in US college sport. Under existing NCAA guidance, players get five years to play five seasons, and recent court rulings have interpreted this in ways that let some players with professional experience, such as time in a professional training camp or having signed with a pro team, take part anyway. The conferences argue this experience should rule players out, and want to enforce that themselves through fines and other penalties, rather than leave it to the NCAA, the organisation that governs most US college sport.
This matters because it sets up a direct clash between conference rules and court orders, with lawyers for the players arguing the new guidelines could put the NCAA in breach of those rulings. Other major conferences are expected to follow the SEC and Big Ten's lead, and further legal action looks likely, so the outcome could reshape who is allowed to play college sport and how much power conferences have to set their own eligibility rules.