By James B. Ewers Jr. Ed.D.
College sports have grown rapidly. Increased scholarships, television deals, and new conference alignments have all played a part. Now let’s add the possibility of players signing professional football contracts and then returning to play in college.
I’m watching now only as a fan. Years ago, I was a college student-athlete and enjoyed playing the sport I loved. I didn’t know much about conference rules and regulations.
What I did know was that I had four years of scholarship eligibility and had to get good grades to keep it. And of course, winning was a part of it. Thankfully, things worked out well for me. My college experience was fulfilling and fun.
Is being a student-athlete different today? Is there more pressure to perform? Yes, there is. I have often said that you may be the best in your house, the best on your block, and the best in your community. However, is that enough to receive a college scholarship?
According to the NCAA, about 180,000 students receive some type of athletic scholarship. If you are in that number, you are fortunate so don’t take it for granted. If you are trying to get in that number, keep working hard and you’ll get there.
Today, college student-athletes leave college early to pursue professional sports careers. Here is where it gets confusing, at least for me and for many others from the old school.
I am perplexed and confounded that a college student-athlete can sign a professional sports contract and then return to play in college. Recently, a confirmed report says, “A Louisiana state judge granted a temporary restraining order allowing a group that includes 16 college football players, some of whom participated in NFL training camps, to return to college sports and enter the transfer portal for the 2026 season.”
Paul Finebaum of ESPN said, “College football has officially plunged into an abyss”. If you are a college football purist, you’ll say this is unbelievable. Madness is happening right in front of us.
However, not everyone is on this play-football-at-all-costs train. Just a few weeks ago, the SEC presidents and chancellors released the following statement: “College athletes, not former professional athletes, have been at the heart of the Southeastern Conference. Individuals who choose to leave college athletics, sign professional contracts, and compete professionally should not then be permitted to return to college competition.”
The Big Ten Conference and the Big 12 Conference have already issued similar statements. Other conferences have weighed in with their displeasure about athletes who have signed professional contracts returning to playing college ball. All of them realize that something is wrong with this picture.
Will this get worse before it gets better? Having the courts seemingly in charge of college athletics isn’t right. Student-athletes who leave college for the pros still risk not making it. They are receiving bad advice and poor counseling from their advisors.
The college football season has already started. Lane Kiffin, coach of LSU (Louisiana State University), once said he would recruit some of these professional players who have returned to the transfer portal. Fortunately, this did not happen. Everyone knows that football is king in the Bayou State.
The SEC was going to enforce a half-season suspension for coaches who use former professional players. This would happen if LSU added Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to its 105-player roster. Records show that neither player was on their team roster. I believe LSU made the right decision.
College sports rules have become arbitrary and capricious. The NCAA, once the athletic vanguard, is losing its shine. Athletic conferences are beginning to wield more power and control. However, courts and athletes themselves are now the new contestants in this football takeover. Who will have the last word? It depends upon who you ask.
