ACC becomes final Power 4 conference to ban pros

The ACC passed a resolution on Thursday banning professionals from returning to college in football, and men's and women's basketball, joining the other Power 4 conferences in setting forth eligibility enforcement. The resolution includes players who had previously declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA drafts and did not withdraw before the draft; Players who signed with the NFL or another professional football league, NBA/G-League or WNBA; or any player listed on any roster for an NFL or other professional football league, NBA/G-League or WNBA team. The Board of Directors passed the resolution unanimously. In a statement, the ACC said, "The Board's action reflects the ACC's commitment to preserving college sports as an opportunity for college students that is clearly distinct from professional sports, protecting opportunities for current and future student-athletes and promoting competitive equity." The new conference rules have come after Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris left NFL minicamps with plans to play at LSU. Wright and Harris would return to college football thanks to a court order that is creating havoc throughout the NCAA by allowing athletes from the 2022 class a fifth year of eligibility. Wright and other athletes from the 2022 class played four college seasons and went pro under the belief that they had exhausted their eligibility. The NCAA adopted a new aged-based model in June that grants athletes up to five years of eligibility within five years, but the new rules did not cover players who began their careers in 2022-23. Earlier this week, Duke coach Manny Diaz said he was in favor of the ACC setting forth rules not allowing players who had signed pro contracts to return to college. "I don't blame the players. I don't blame the individual schools because no one's breaking a rule. But if something doesn't pass the smell test, then why don't the grownups in the room be the grownups in the room and let's just say that's not something that we that we stand for." Diaz also noted that teams are now limited to 105 roster spots, and unless a team left a few spots open, any player coming back from a pro roster would be taking a spot from someone else. "They're kicking somebody off who has gone through summer conditioning and an offseason program, and I think there's morale issues," Diaz said. "There's real life consequence. This is not pro sports where we check the waiver wire and we just cut a dude and bring a dude in. I'd be curious to see what's actually happening at all these schools. Not just the NFL guys, all the other just eligibility cases. Did that take somebody's spot or not?"