The Big Ten unanimously adopted a conference rule Monday that bars men’s and women’s basketball players with professional ties from competing at its schools. The rule covers any player who signed a contract with the NBA, G League or WNBA or with any team in those leagues, any player who was on one of those rosters at any point, and any player who declared for the NBA or WNBA Draft and didn’t withdraw or declare an intent to return to college in time. The conference said it’s still evaluating similar rules for other sports.
The Big Ten passed a football version of the rule on August 25, the same day the SEC passed a broader rule that already included basketball. The Big 12 and the ACC followed within two days. The Big Ten’s football rule carries a half-season suspension for the head coach and a fine for the school. Monday’s statement didn’t list penalties for basketball or an effective date.
A judge can stop the NCAA from declaring a player ineligible, and the conference rule still keeps that player off a Big Ten roster. A Dallas judge on August 27 became the first to restrain a conference directly, naming the NCAA, the SEC and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey in an order covering 41 plaintiffs.
Christeen Iwuala came to Westwood in Cori Close’s 2022 class with Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Londynn Jones and Lina Sontag, played two seasons at UCLA and transferred to Ole Miss in 2024. She averaged 12.5 points and 8.3 rebounds as a senior on 60.1% shooting, signed with the Washington Mystics as an undrafted free agent in April and was waived after 2 preseason games, then joined the Greensboro Groove of the UpShot League. Iwuala is one of the 41 plaintiffs in that Dallas case, and Judge Martin Hoffman’s order blocked the NCAA and the SEC from using her time on a pro roster to keep her out of college. The order doesn’t name the Big Ten, and Monday’s rule bars her from every Big Ten school, UCLA included.
UCLA hasn’t been linked to Tyler Bilodeau recently, but I’m told he would’ve been of interest if the rules played out and UCLA had the money. The Brooklyn Nets drafted the former UCLA forward 43rd overall in June and signed him to a two-way contract, and a source with direct knowledge told me in August that he remains locked in with Brooklyn. The NCAA already refused eligibility to players with NBA contracts, two-way deals included, and the Big Ten now bars him too.
The statement doesn’t mention international professional leagues. UCLA’s Filip Jović and Sergej Macura both played for KK Mega in the ABA League before their college careers at Auburn and Mississippi State, and neither has signed with an NBA or G League team.
UCLA’s men’s program isn’t expected to add a fifth-year player. I was told in August that UCLA was out of money for the last roster spot, with the budget covering the core of last season’s team, the transfer portal additions, the freshman class and a two-year deal for Nikola Kusturica. UCLA head coach Mick Cronin later told the California Post’s Ben Bolch that UCLA’s financial resources rank in the top half of the Big Ten but outside the top five.