SEC commissioner Greg Sankey voices objections to pro athletes returning to college
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As the debate around player eligibility in college athletics persists, one of the most powerful and influential figures in college sports has weighed in on the matter.
In an affidavit filed last week, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey asked Judge Ronald Johnson in East Baton Rouge Parish (Louisiana) court to uphold NCAA rules and not allow athletes who have signed a professional contract to be eligible to compete at the college level.
According to a report from ESPN, Sankey wrote that such athletes returning to college "fuels disruption" and that allowing them back would undermine the "fundamental principles" of college athletics.
Sankey’s plea came after a lawsuit was filed by newly committed LSU men’s basketball player RJ Luis, who was the 2024-25 Big East player of the year before he turned pro. He went undrafted, but signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz and later an Exhibit 10 contract with the Boston Celtics' G League affiliate.
Luis is hardly alone in his fight to get back to college. On Wednesday, a judge granted a temporary restraining order to 32 athletes wishing to retain college eligibility, including three football players who are currently on NFL rosters.
In his affidavit, Sankey wrote that preventing such pros-back-to-college cases is "essential to the integrity of college sports."
"These rules are grounded in the principle that athletics are an integral part of the academic experience," Sankey wrote, according to ESPN. "The rules align the time permitted for college athletics with the pursuit of an undergraduate education and further the important purpose of preserving opportunities for future student-athletes to participate in college sports."
While Sankey’s efforts put him at odds with one of his conference’s members, LSU, this isn’t the first time he’s risked upsetting an SEC school.
Earlier this year, Sankey voiced similar objections and used almost identical language against the plaintiff in a case involving Alabama men’s basketball player Charles Bediako, a former G League player who had returned to the Crimson Tide after three years away. After Bediako was initially ruled eligible, an Alabama judge later sided with the NCAA.
“I respectfully ask the Court to uphold the NCAA eligibility rules challenged in this case, which are essential to the integrity of college sports, to the educational mission they serve, and to the opportunities they provide for current and future student-athletes,” Sankey wrote in the affidavit at the time.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: SEC commissioner Greg Sankey voices objections to pro athletes returning to college
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