The ACC's Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution barring former professional athletes from returning to play football or men's and women's basketball at ACC schools, matching the rest of the Power Four after a week of rapid rule-making.
— The ACC (@theACC) August 27, 2026
The ACC joins the rest of the Power Conferences in a show of common sense
The resolution directs the commissioner to enforce eligibility standards when an athlete tries to come back after pursuing a professional career. An ACC school cannot roster a player who declared/signed for the NFL, NBA or WNBA draft and did not withdraw under NCAA rules.
Group of Six conferences have not issued the same ban, so that opening will be something to potentially watch in the future. It wouldn't make sense for the Group of Six to break off from the rest of college football on this topic, but nobody knows what could happen in the future.
The issue of pro players returning to play college football may not be completely over, but for now it does appear as though it won't be a problem for this season. There are guardrails to prevent this from popping up in the future, but things really can change any day in the courts.
Not many coaches commented on the topic of players returning to college. The only one was Bill Belichick who did acknowledge that it would be something that UNC would have to look at if it became something more prevalent within the sport. Mario Cristobal never made a statement on the matter, but this seems like something he wouldn't be supportive of.
The ACC may have been the last of the Power Conferences to make this ban final, but at the end of the day, as long as they joined the rest of college football, nobody cares if it took the Board extra time.
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