This should be an extraordinary moment for Southeastern Conference football.
Across our 16 universities, student-athletes have spent months preparing for a season that will showcase some of the best teams, traditions and environments in college sports. Fans have waited all year for it.
Instead, the opening of this season is being consumed by an unnecessary controversy over whether athletes who have already entered professional sports should be allowed to return to college competition.
Part of the confusion comes from treating two separate issues as though they are the same.
One question is how many years an athlete should be permitted to compete in college. There is an active national debate about fifth-year eligibility, and courts have issued rulings on those questions. That is not what this op-ed is about.
The issue over pro athletes who try to return to college sports is different, and the SEC’s position is clear: an athlete who has signed a professional playing contract has entered professional sports and should not be permitted to return to college competition in that sport.
For decades, college athletics has maintained a distinction between college and professional sports. NCAA eligibility rules have long reflected that principle. The SEC did not create a new standard this summer to target a particular athlete, coach or university. Recent circumstances required our presidents and chancellors to make clear that this longstanding principle still applies.
Despite the significant changes in college sports and the economic framework underpinning it, a clear distinction remains between college sports and the pros. Participation in college sports is limited to student-athletes and includes important academic eligibility rules. Our athletic programs should not become fallback options when a professional opportunity ends.
Nor should student-athletes that become professional athletes be encouraged to believe they can treat college sports as a revolving door at the expense of student-athletes for whom college athletics provides a life-changing educational opportunity.
This is not a judgment about the individuals at the center of these cases. These are young people who have worked incredibly hard to pursue opportunities in sports, and they deserve to be treated with respect. We understand their desire to continue competing, developing their talents and improving their lives through the opportunities available to them.
But university leaders have a responsibility that extends beyond one athlete, one coach or one roster. And we never forget that we have been entrusted to lead some of the nation’s leading institutions of higher education, the majority of which are public and taxpayer-supported.
We cannot allow competitive interests of one coach, or one university, to outweigh the foundational standards of our conference and indeed all of college sports.
The presidents and chancellors of the SEC universities have affirmed the conference’s position on this question. College athletics will continue to change. Eligibility rules will continue to evolve, and courts will continue to have a role in resolving disputes. But we must continue to draw a sharp line between intercollegiate sports, which remain linked to the educational purpose of our universities, and the pros.
The chaos surrounding this long-settled issue also underscores why college athletics needs action from Congress. A national system cannot be governed effectively through a growing collection of conflicting lawsuits and court orders. Universities and student-athletes need clear, consistent rules that apply across states and conferences. That is why I support passage of the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, which would provide greater stability and clarity on issues including eligibility and professional status.
Our focus should now be on supporting student-athletes in what should be an incredible season of SEC football. They have worked too hard for their season to be overshadowed by a dispute that national rules should have settled long ago.
Mun Y. Choi is president of University of Missouri and Vice Chair of the SEC Board of Presidents & Chancellors