TIGER RAG NEWS SERVICES
The call was put out for the Southeastern Conference to self govern like Commissioner Greg Sankey said they could, and the conference has responded.
SEC member presidents, chancellors and athletics directors agreed, during a meeting on Tuesday, to enforce a new policy banning any league school from signing a player who has declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA draft without removing their name, signed a professional contract with those leagues or been listed on one of their rosters. ESPN reports the vote to approve the rule was 16-0 in favor.
The policy comes after the Big Ten unanimously approved a similar rule preventing the return of college football players who signed NFL contracts Tuesday morning. The clear distinction between the two conferences’ policies is how the SEC targets LSU’s recent acquisitions.
Lane Kiffin received commitments from two former Rebels he coached at Ole Miss last year, tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, to sign at LSU after a temporary restraining order granted by a Baton Rouge judge made them eligible to return to college football despite signing contracts with NFL teams and participating in training camp. The eligibility issued in that case will not be made certain until a hearing scheduled for Aug. 31.
On Monday, Will Wade got a favorable ruling from another Baton Rouge judge who granted former St. John’s basketball player RJ Luis a preliminary injunction to practice and play for LSU after declaring for the NBA draft in 2025 and signing pro deals with the Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics organizations. Luis had a year of eligibility remaining following his Big East Player of the Year 2024-2025 season but chose to enter the draft. However, since he never played a G League game due to injury, Judge Ronald Johnson opened the door for his return.
The SEC’s new rule, however, makes all three of those signees immediately ineligible. Schools that do sign former pros could face hefty consequences. Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reports that university presidents gave Sankey complete authority to enforce the rule, including the power to suspend a team from competition.
The slew of conference bans against these players and the TRO they have been granted could face the same scrutiny the NCAA faced for its initial decision not to include the class of 2022 in the new, five-year eligibility model. Instead of putting an end to the roster chaos and threat to the traditional line in the sand of college athletics, these policies could spur on more lawsuits now targeting the SEC or Big Ten instead of the NCAA.
Be the first to comment