ACC officials, coaches join pro athlete eligibility conversation. What they said

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.

College coaches and conference officials rarely agree on anything, but several major leagues and their high-profile bench bosses have (mostly) united around one common issue — maintaining one last shred of amateurism in college sports.

The ACC Board of Directors, in a statement released Thursday, has instructed Commissioner Jim Phillips to enforce several eligibility requirements related to athletes seeking professional opportunities.

The statement read, in part: “No member institution is allowed to include football or basketball players — men or women — on its roster if the player has previously: declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA Draft and not withdrawn appropriately; signed a contract with a team in the NFL or other professional football league, NBA/G-League, WNBA or affiliate; or has been listed on a professional football roster, NBA/G-League roster or WNBA or affiliate roster.”

NBA contracts such as Exhibit 10 deals, two-way contracts, or any other agreement that extends beyond expenses and per diem are included in the restrictions.

“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 statement said. “As the eligibility landscape continues to evolve, the ACC will remain steadfast in its support for standards that are consistent with the educational mission of college athletics.”

The ACC’s statement comes on the heels of similar announcements from the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 conferences, specifically saying players who signed NFL contracts are ineligible for competition.

N.C. State football coach Dave Doeren and Duke football’s Manny Diaz this week both publicly supported eligibility restrictions.

Just Tuesday, Diaz said that he would like to see the ACC join the other three conferences. The SEC issued its statement Monday, saying its stance was that athletes signing pro contracts should not be allowed to return to college sports. ESPN reported Tuesday that the Big Ten is approving a rule to prevent players who signed with NFL team or been on an NFL roster from competing.

“I feel like the Power Four leagues should be in solidarity,” Diaz said Tuesday. “I hope the leagues do step up because somebody has to.”

“We can enjoy the fact that the players can benefit financially from playing in college now,” Diaz said. “At the same time, recognize the ultimate truth that we’re not a professional sports franchise. We are a collegiate, scholastic school activity, and we’ve got to reign that in.

“I think that’s one small symptom of a great problem where we are, being legislated by individual judges. And you can find anybody in a courtroom anywhere to make whatever rule benefits whatever team in whatever state gets them elected. It’s bad policy. You wouldn’t run any other type of corporation or organization or anything else the way we’re being run right now.”

Thursday, prior to the ACC’s statement, Doeren also said he was against professional athletes returning to school.

“When you become a pro athlete, you surrender amateurism. That’s been forever, and I don’t think that should be any different,” Doeren said. “To me, that’s the cutoff. When a guy goes pro, then we say goodbye, good luck, and we move on. And there shouldn’t be the ability to come back.”

Doeren said some of the proposed rules “are crazy” and don’t make sense. He acknowledged that the “5-for-5” rule and the timing “wasn’t great for a bunch of guys,” because there were players who ended up becoming free agents that he wishes could’ve come back. That’s not reality, he said.

There are players who are involved in other lawsuits for various reasons. Doeren said, “we’ll see where all that goes.”

Meanwhile, UNC football coach Bill Belichick, asked Monday about professional players in college, said he was not opposed to adding those who had signed to join NFL teams this year or been in NFL preseason camps.

“Each case is a little different,” Belichick said. “I don’t think that’s anything we’re counting on, but we’re always open to anything that can help the team.”

College sports have been in a state of flux — some would say chaos — in trying to grapple with the issue of whether athletes from the high-school class of 2022 should be awarded a fifth year of eligibility. The NCAA this school year is implementing a new eligibility rule that will give college athletes five years of competition in a five-year span, replacing its four-in-five-years eligibility model.

The NCAA did not grandfather in those athletes whose eligibility ended after the 2025-26 school year. Many athletes joined lawsuits in various states seeking injunctions against the NCAA.

A Colorado appeals court placed a stay on an injunction that was issued by a Colorado federal judge against the NCAA that had made thousands of athletes eligible. Until the stay is lifted and the NCAA appeal can be heard, those athletes remain ineligible for college play. Many involved in individual lawsuits in other states are not affected by the Colorado ruling and remain eligible.

Complicating the issue was a Louisiana judge granting a temporary injunction that allows R.J. Luis Jr., who has signed multiple NBA contracts, to play this year at LSU for first-year coach Will Wade. LSU’s football coach Lane Kiffin also hopes to add two football players who have been in NFL camps this year.

Diaz, starting his third year as Duke’s head coach, noted the roster limit for college football was 105 and that bringing back a player who has signed a pro contract could present problems.

“Unless someone left a couple of roster spots open, they’re kicking somebody off who has gone through summer conditioning and offseason programs,” Diaz said. “They’re taking somebody’s roster spot.

“I think there’s morale issues,” Diaz added. “There’s real-life consequences. This is not pro sports where we check the waiver wire, and we cut a dude and bring a dude in.”

Diaz on Tuesday did jokingly offer up one solution: “Maybe we can play a preseason game against all the guys who got cut from the NFL. They can be a traveling band of nomads running around the country playing college teams.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2026 at 7:20 PM with the headline “ACC officials, coaches join pro athlete eligibility conversation. What they said.”