Big 12 prohibits pro athletes from returning to compete in college

Michelle Gardner, Arizona RepublicThu, August 27, 2026 at 1:08 AM UTC

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The Big 12 has followed the lead of the Big Ten and SEC in not allowing athletes who have played at the professional level to return to compete in college.

The conference issued a statement on Aug. 26 saying it had adopted a rule prohibiting an institution from fielding professional athletes in a conference-sponsored sport.

It defined those as athletes who:

Declared for the draft or supplemental draft of a professional sports league and did not timely withdraw before the draft

Been listed on the roster of a professional sports league; or

Signed a contract with any professional sports league to provide athletic services.

The moves by those Power Four conferences come after some players sought a return to college. The first such player was tight end Dae'Quan Wright, who wanted to sign with LSU after a judge's temporary restraining order granted him a fifth year of eligibility. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles after the draft, and then was claimed on waivers by the Browns on Aug. 11. He was then waived by the Browns.

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The SEC move, which came hours after the Big Ten made its announcement, would seem to prohibit Wright from doing just that, though.

The SEC's ruling covers both football and basketball, while the Big Ten's rule only included football.

The ACC has not yet adopted such a measure, but one is currently being debated.

The NCAA rules apply to the pre-enrollment space, so foreign basketball players such as Mo Krivas and Ivan Kharchenkov of Arizona would still be eligible. Athletes would not be eligible if they were to play in college, then go play overseas professionally, and then want to come back to play in college.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Big 12 prohibits pro athletes from returning to compete in college

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