Where SEC, Big Ten, other conferences stand on NFL players returning to college football

In the wake of unprecedented legal loopholes allowing football players to return to college after NFL roster stints, conferences appear to be taking action. 

With LSU reportedly set to land tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris in the transfer portal — both of whom competed with NFL teams this summer — the Big Ten will be passing a new rule on Tuesday to address the issue, ESPN reported.

Other top NCAA conferences appear to be following suit, with the SEC, ACC and Big 12 all reportedly considering similar rules.

Here's the latest on which college football conferences have passed rules banning players from returning after NFL stints.

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Where each conference stands on NFL players returning to college

A ruling in Louisiana last week granted 16 football players, including a number who had already spent time on NFL rosters this summer, a restraining order that allows them to return to college sports. 

Afterward, Wright and Harris, who played for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, entered the transfer portal with plans to join LSU despite spending time on NFL rosters already this summer.

Here's where some of the major college football conferences stand on rules banning players from making returns from the NFL.

Big Ten

ESPN reported Tuesday morning that the Big Ten was expected to be the first conference to pass a rule that doesn't allow players to return from the NFL and play for one of its schools.

As part of that expected rule, "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," per ESPN.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Monday that he would "have to at least consider" the possibility of adding players who are cut from NFL rosters, if eligible, but acknowledged that he also believes players who head to the pros shouldn't be able to return.

"Do I like anything about it? Absolutely not," Day said, per ESPN. "But we got to do what's right for Ohio State. So it's sort of a day-to-day thing right now, and like anything, we're just going to try to adapt.

SEC

The SEC will have perhaps the closest eyes on its decision in this process. Despite LSU reportedly being set to land Wright and Harris, the SEC released a statement on Tuesday night that said the presidents and chancellors of the league believe athletes who choose to leave college athletics and sign professional contracts "should not then be permitted to return to college competition."

After a Monday evening videoconference of the Presidents and Chancellors of the Southeastern Conference, the Conference is issuing the following statement: pic.twitter.com/kwWxGz5CQ3

Ross Dellenger then reported Tuesday that the SEC "is expected to consider" the rule change during meetings this week. The SEC presidents are also expected to directly tell the league's athletic directors to not accept former professional players "under threat of penalty," such as ruling a player ineligible, fines, etc.

Any action by the SEC would be going against the moves of one of its high-profile members and coaches in LSU and Kiffin. Kiffin has defended his decision to add Wright and Harris after their NFL stints, saying players are "either going to play for you or they're going to play for someone else around the country," per ESPN.

ACC

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips told ESPN that his conference also plans to discuss the topic of NFL players' returns this week.

Dellenger also reported that the ACC " is expected to also consider a pro-player ban."

Big 12

Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger reported Tuesday that the Big 12 is another conference "considering a league-wide policy banning pro players returning to the conference."

If the Big 12, ACC and SEC rules proceed, it would mark all four Power 4 conferences banning returns from NFL players.

NCAA's stance

While it appears that conferences will be leading the way in the saga of NFL players returning to college, the NCAA did release a statement on the issue's effect on college sports.

"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 NCAA statement said, per ESPN.  "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."

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Are conferences allowed to prohibit NFL players from returning to college? 

Conferences taking action would be a significant step in keeping NFL players from returning to college, but like everything else in college sports in 2026, legal issues could still make an impact. 

Dellenger noted on X that "league-wide rules do not absolve a conference from legal challenges," and that if the Power 4 conferences do pass anti-NFL-player-return rules, athletes can still sue the conferences "as defendants in separate lawsuits or added as defendants in existing lawsuits, many times in front of the same judges."

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