Three of the four major college football conferences have now banned athletes with professional experience from returning to NCAA competition, and a fourth may join them within days.
The Big 12 voted unanimously Wednesday to bar professional athletes from competing in college sports, according to Yahoo Sports. The move followed identical unanimous votes by the Big Ten and the SEC.
Each conference has drawn its own line on what counts as professional experience. The Big Ten bars any underclassman who declared for the NFL Draft and failed to withdraw, signed a professional contract, or was listed on an NFL roster at any point. The SEC bans players who have signed a contract, been on a roster, or failed to withdraw from the draft for the NFL, NBA, G League, or WNBA. The Big 12 went the broadest, banning professionals from returning in any sport.
One question still unresolved is whether any of the bans apply to European leagues. That matters for programs like Duke, which features Dame Sarr and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, both of whom played for FC Barcelona.
The ACC is expected to weigh in soon, possibly by Thursday. According to Pete Thamel on X, ACC athletic directors are in agreement but still need sign-off from the ACC Board. There has been no word yet on whether the Big East will act.
The push by conferences comes directly in response to a legal challenge. RJ Luis, who was under contract to two NBA teams, obtained a preliminary injunction on August 24 that would have allowed him to play college basketball. The SEC responded the very next day, voting 16-0 to block that outcome. One note from the SEC vote: LSU abstained rather than voting yes.
The ACC Board vote, expected Thursday, will determine whether the new consensus extends across all of the sport's major conferences.
