The Big Ten and SEC just slammed the door on NFL-to-college comebacks, and Lane Kiffin is caught in the middle
Two of college football's most powerful conferences voted unanimously Tuesday to ban former professional athletes from their rosters, a decision triggered by LSU's attempt to sign a pair of ex-NFL players days before the season opens.
In brief
The Big Ten and SEC just slammed the door on NFL-to-college comebacks, and Lane Kiffin is caught in the middle
Four days before LSU opens its 2026 season, Lane Kiffin found himself at the center of a firestorm that has now reshaped the rules of college athletics. On Tuesday, August 25, two of the sport's most powerful conferences did something unprecedented: they each voted unanimously, within hours of each other, to ban former professional athletes from their rosters. The rule was not theoretical. It was aimed squarely at Kiffin's Tigers.
The chain of events started with a Louisiana courtroom. A state judge issued temporary restraining orders restoring a fifth year of eligibility to several members of the Class of 2022 - a group the NCAA had previously ruled ineligible under a policy that only extended the five-year window to the Class of 2023 and later. The development came as numerous Class of 2022 athletes were being granted 2026 eligibility via court orders applying the NCAA's new 5-in-5 eligibility policy. That much was complicated enough. Then Kiffin did what Kiffin does.
Two former Ole Miss players, one enormous problem
The LSU Tigers became college football's public enemy No. 1 over the last few days following the commitment of former Cleveland Browns tight end and Ole Miss Rebel Dae'Quan Wright, along with defensive tackle Zxavian Harris. Both men went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft. Wright was cut by the Cleveland Browns during training camp shortly after he was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles. Harris was cut by the New Orleans Saints. Under the Louisiana court order, they were eligible to return to college and had found their way back to their old coach. Wright's case could become particularly significant because, according to the Associated Press, he would become the first known player to return to college after spending time on an NFL roster - if he ultimately played.
But the conferences weren't going to let that happen.
The Big Ten became the first conference to ban football players who have signed professional contracts from returning to play at its schools. Any player who declared for the NFL draft and did not withdraw, appeared on an NFL roster or signed a contract with a pro league cannot be on a Big Ten roster. The Big Ten's athletic directors unanimously approved the rule, which then received unanimous approval later Tuesday from the conference's faculty athletic representatives.
The SEC followed within hours. SEC presidents, chancellors and athletics directors voted unanimously Tuesday to prohibit member schools from placing former professional athletes on their rosters, effectively closing the door on players who have already moved into the NFL, NBA, WNBA or affiliated professional leagues returning to compete in the conference. The language went wider than football. An SEC institution is not permitted to have an athlete on its roster who has previously declared for the NFL, NBA, or WNBA Draft and did not appropriately withdraw, signed a contract with a professional team, or been listed on a professional roster.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was granted by the SEC presidents unlimited authority to suspend a school if it signs a former pro player. That's not a fine. That's a school suspension. The threat is existential for any program that tries to test it.
Kiffin's own argument against his own move
Kiffin appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday and said something that sounded almost like a concession. "There are a lot of parts of this I don't like," Kiffin said. "I don't think professionals should come back to college sports and college football. But in this instance, these are not players who have gone on to play seasons professionally or randomly filed an injunction. This is part of a specific class that was ruled wrong by the NCAA that was supposed to be [five years to play five seasons]."
It's a fair distinction, legally. Whether the court agrees is another matter. Darren Heitner, representing Wright, believes that the language in the Louisiana injunction provides a "colorable argument" to cover conference-wide policies as well. Wright's reps are "figuring out" next steps in real time. The players' attorney went further. Ryan Downton, who represents Wright, Harris, and several other players in a Louisiana case, challenged the conferences' ability to "blatantly violate court orders."
LSU's athletic director, Verge Ausberry, had been publicly supportive of Kiffin's plan. Now the SEC he voted alongside has shut it down.
Not just LSU - and not just football
The Tigers were not exclusively a football story. LSU's men's basketball team also signed former NBA and UMass guard RJ Luis, adding fuel to the fire. The SEC's new policy covers NBA and G League players too, so Luis's situation is equally in jeopardy.
The ripple effects spread fast. The Sun Belt instituted its own ban on Tuesday night, with other conferences likely contemplating their own policies. Wake Forest athletic director John Currie, chairman of the ACC athletic directors group for the upcoming season, said his colleagues planned to discuss the issue Wednesday. Currie was direct about where ADs stand. "I don't think anybody in our league likes the idea of taking away opportunities from existing college students and graduating high school players, which is exactly what is happening when a school signs a player out of an NFL camp to their team," Currie wrote in a text message to the Associated Press.
Duke coach Manny Diaz agreed. Diaz said the Power Four conferences need to present a unified front. They appear to be getting there in real time, one unanimous vote at a time.
What comes next is anyone's guess
NFL training camps were suddenly becoming part of the college recruiting landscape - and that reality, more than anything, is what alarmed administrators. The legal fight, though, is nowhere near finished. The affected athletes are also considering their options, including potential legal challenges. There may be nothing to stop Wright and Harris from finishing their college seasons and immediately re-signing in the pros.
The season opens for LSU on September 5 against Clemson. As of Wednesday morning, Wright and Harris are not on the roster, their attorney is talking about court options, and Kiffin is coaching a program that tried to do something nobody had done before and got its hand slapped by two conferences before it could. The Louisiana injunction, however, is still in effect.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
