The Big 12 Conference followed in the steps of the Big Ten and SEC on Wednesday by adopting a conference-wide rule that prohibits schools from adding athletes who have signed a professional contract.
The rule comes with an important caveat: players who had pro experience prior to enrolling in college won’t be impacted. Notably, that means Arizona men’s basketball’s European standouts Ivan Kharcenkov and Motiejus Krivas remain in good standing.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel clarified the rule, which garnered a lot
of confusion due to its wording.
CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander also clarified that Kharchenkov and Krivas won’t be affected, adding that the Big 12 is working out a penalty structure for rule violators similar to one the SEC approved Wednesday.
Now that concerns about Kharchenkov and Krivas’ eligibility are out of the way, what does the ruling actually mean?
As The Athletic’s Ralph Russo succinctly stated, players can’t leave, turn pro and then come to college. The Big 12 rule applies to all sports, whereas the SEC’s rule named only the NFL, NBA, WNBA and G League.
The timing of the rule comes days after LSU football publicly pursued NFL players who were seeking a fifth year of college eligibility.
