This is an opinion article.
The Big Ten announced it had passed a new rule Tuesday which forbid any NFL players from reentering college football to play for one of its programs. This means any under classmen who declared for the draft and did not with draw and signed with a professional team or is on a professional roster will not be allowed back to the Big Ten.
“The Big Ten Conference announced Tuesday the unanimous adoption of a conference rule to prohibit football players who have signed a professional contract, were on a professional roster at any point or declared for the NFL Draft as an underclassman without withdrawing, from maintaining eligibility for athletic competition at a conference institution,” the conference said in a statement. “The conference continues to evaluate potential rules restricting professional athletes in other sports from conference competition.”
This regulation came one heels of LSU taking advantage of the legal loophole created by a Louisiana state judge who issued a temporary injunction. Essentially, players may regain a fifth year of eligibility if they terminate their pro contracts and repay any pro earnings. The fallout from the injunction is what allowed two NFL players, Dae’Quan Wright (Cleveland Browns) and Zxavian Harris (New Orleans Saints) to reenter the transfer portal and join the Tigers.
The SEC released a statement Monday stating it believed that athletes who leave college athletics and sign in the professional leagues should not be permitted to return.
However according to a report from CBS, the Big Ten had voted unanimously to exclude any professional players to reenter the transfer portal. So when it comes to the SEC’s statement and based off the action of some it’s programs, it still looks to be the wild west.
Even Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer shared that there is a “possibility out there of someone who was on our roster in the past,” to potentially rejoin the Crimson Tide. DeBoer left things up to athletic director Greg Byrne to sort out, but even his track record would indicate that the Crimson Tide would be looking to add from the NFL waivers.
Just earlier this year, the Alabama basketball team brought back center Charles Bediako mid-season after a Tuscaloosa court granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA despite the big man signing an appearing in 82 NBA G League games over three seasons. Bediako was ultimately deemed ineligible despite appearing in five games, but history would indicate that Byrne and Alabama are perfectly fine exploiting a broken system.
College football changes from year-to-year, regulation cannot come soon enough or even have enough edits from month-to-month to keep pace with whatever injunctions are made by hometown judges.
But it just means more right?
What matters above all else than winning? Sarcasm aside that’s exactly what many leaders in college athletics are solely considering.
There certainly won’t be any room on any championship ring that reads, “*Won the Championship but brought back two NFL players to it’s roster*.”
Yet, shouldn’t there be something to be said about being forward thinking and looking out for what’s best for the sport? That’s what the Big Ten did today when it completely showed up the SEC.
For 20 years, the SEC has flaunted about being the top dog and most forward thinking conference in collegiate athletics but was beat to the punch bad when it had an opportunity to take a stand against professionals reentering the realm of “amateurs.” All because the conference that already has the most NFL talent year-over-year, is trying to recapture it’s glory from the Big Ten who just rattled off three straight national titles.
When it comes to admitting a conference has lost the grip on the reigns of the sport, the SEC may have just said the quite part our loud.
Commissioner Greg Sankey along with the presidents and chancellors of the conference are currently meeting in Birmingham, Alabama through Wednesday with the focus of the conversation supposedly set on the future of college athletics according to ESPN.
If some semblance of a plan to properly address these types of occurrences isn’t reached then college football will continue to lose the plot.
**This article was published prior to the SEC’s new ban on professional athletes playing for any teams in its conference.**
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
