Major College Football Conference to Pass a Rule Prohibiting Players Who Were in the NFL Amid Transfer Portal Chaos

Aaron M. Sprecher/AP

The Big Ten Conference is reportedly taking action to prevent players with NFL experience from coming back to play in college.

According to ESPN college football senior writer Peter Thamel, the conference was in the process of implementing a new rule prohibiting players who were previously in the NFL. Thamel said in a tweet:

Sources: The Big Ten is set to pass a rule today that doesn’t allow players to return from the NFL and play for a Big Ten school. Anyone 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.

The rule came in response to a Louisiana court order granting a group of players a fifth year of college football eligibility. Many of those players were on NFL rosters, with some even playing in the preseason. Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris — who signed with the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints, respectively — recently left their teams to return to college and play at LSU.

It’s not the first time a conference has taken action in response to a court order undermining the NCAA. This past spring, a Texas judge granted Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby a temporary injunction allowing him to play in the upcoming season. Sorsby was previously declared ineligible after betting on games.

While Texas Tech welcomed Sorsby back and defended its position, the rest of the college football world was outraged by the move. Multiple conferences even threatened to boycott Texas Tech, vowing to not keep the team off their schedules.

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