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The Southeastern Conference (SEC) has adopted a policy that will prohibit member schools from rostering athletes who declared for a major professional draft without signing a professional contract or appearing on a professional roster.
Big Ten and SEC move to block pro prospects returning
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What we know:
The SEC’s action follows a similar decision by the Big Ten, which moved early Tuesday morning to prevent athletes with NFL ties from returning to SEC football rosters amid a rapidly changing legal fight over college eligibility.
Texas lineman in SEC eligibility grey area
Local perspective:
For Texas, the new policy raises questions about the status of offensive lineman Cole Hutson, who returned to the Longhorns earlier this month after initially exhausting his eligibility. Texas announced Hutson’s return in early August after he regained a fifth year of eligibility through a court challenge to NCAA rules. His experience was expected to bolster an already loaded Longhorns offensive line.
Hutson was a former four-year contributor who played 48 games and made 23 starts at center, guard and tackle, went undrafted after the 2025 season and later participated in rookie minicamps with the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys, but he did not sign a professional contract with either team.
Retroactive questions
Dig deeper:
However, the new SEC policy says an institution cannot roster an athlete who previously declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA draft and did not properly withdraw from that draft. The conference has not publicly clarified whether its policy applies retroactively to players such as Hutson, who had already rejoined a roster before the announcement.
The SEC policy also appears poised to block LSU from adding former Cleveland Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright, who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent before being claimed and later waived by Cleveland.
Wright had an agreement to join LSU if he cleared waivers.
Federal court rulings and conference enforcement power
Big picture view:
The SEC said its commissioner may enforce the restriction and levy penalties against member institutions that violate it.
The new conference rules arrive amid legal challenges to NCAA eligibility limits.
A federal appeals court last week paused a broader ruling that had allowed athletes who began college in 2022-23 and played four consecutive seasons to return for a fifth year.
Some athletes, including Wright, still have separate state-court orders affecting their eligibility.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by a social media post by the SEC. Additional information was provided by ESPN.