CFP 'strongly supports' prohibiting player return from NFL - ESPN

Leaders of the College Football Playoff on Friday stopped short of implementing any new rules around eligibility or participation but issued a statement that «strongly supports» the recent positions of conferences prohibiting players returning to college teams from the NFL.

«The CFP strongly supports the positions and rules of individual conferences concerning the return to college of athletes with professional draft, contract or roster ties,» the statement read. «These conference rules are intended to protect the needs, interests and integrity of the sport. The CFP believes that certain clear rules should be followed so that individual institutions fielding FBS football teams know what will be expected of them, and so that the public can have full confidence in the competitive integrity of the sport. Given the ongoing legal proceedings, we will not have further comments on the matter at this time.»

The CFP's management committee, which consists of the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, held a videoconference for the second time this week to discuss the eligibility issue, which has been a national headline this week centered on LSU. The group began considering this topic at a June meeting in Denver after a judge ruled that former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby was eligible to play in spite of admitting to gambling, including on his former team, Indiana.

The Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12 recently put out independent statements that were nuanced in their own way but collectively agreed that former NFL players shouldn't be allowed to return to college rosters.

On Thursday, after a lengthy court hearing, a judge in Baton Rouge ruled that Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris are cleared