As expected, the SEC on Tuesday evening formally followed the Big Ten's lead in passing an emergency rule to ban former professional athletes from returning to any of their member institutions. The vote was 16-0 among SEC presidents, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Specifically, the SEC is moving to ban athletes who:
-- declared for the NFL, NBA, or WNBA drafts and did not withdraw by their respective deadlines
-- signed a contract with an NFL, NBA, or WNBA team, or any team within their respective minor leagues
-- been listed on an NFL, NBA, or WNBA roster, or a roster for a team within their respective minor leagues
The rule would bar two players LSU is attempting to add -- ex-Ole Miss/Browns tight end Dae'Quan Wright and ex-Ole Miss/Saints defensive tackle Xzavian Harris, as well as others LSU has in the pipeline that haven't been cut by their NFL teams yet. However, a player like Texas offensive lineman Cole Hutson, who had tryouts with the Browns and Cowboys, will likely be allowed to play given that he did not sign a contract and did not appear on a roster. Likewise, ex-Notre Dame pass rusher Junior Tuihalamaka was not in an NFL training camp.
The SEC's new rule will likely be challenged by LSU, who is also in the process of trying to add numerous ex-pros to its basketball team, including former Big East player of the year RJ Luis, Jr.
"Doesn’t work like that," Lane Kiffin said Tuesday on Pat McAfee's show. "You can’t decide, ‘Hey, I like that injunction, I don’t like that one, that play I kind of like, and I like the way that they got him eligible, so we’re going to follow those rules, not these.'"
Following meetings with the Presidents, Chancellors, and Athletics Directors of the Southeastern Conference, the SEC will enforce the following policy: pic.twitter.com/LohWnb7G1J
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) August 25, 2026
Big Ten coaches who add ex-pros face up to a half a season's suspension, while the SEC has given commissioner Greg Sankey latitude to enforce its new rule as he sees fit.
From a source: SEC commish Greg Sankey has "full latitude" to punish a school that violates the ban on former pros. Suspensions from competition, fines, game forfeitures are all on the table. https://t.co/RQNKXpsbOR
— Andy Staples (@AndyStaples) August 25, 2026
Elsewhere, the Sun Belt reportedly passed its own rule on Tuesday, and the ACC, Big 12 and Notre Dame are on their way to doing the same.
As always, it remains to be seen how legally durable any of these rules are but, like with the Big Ten contract that kept Demond Williams from leaving Washington for LSU and the Big 12's maneuvers to force Brendan Sorsby off Texas Tech's roster, the primary goal is to simply make the juice not worth the squeeze.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.