NCAA Announces Decision on Tampering Penalties Following Big Ten Appeal

The Big Ten Conference sent a letter addressed to NCAA president Charlie Baker this week, making a formal request for a moratorium on investigations related to tampering allegations until the NCAA finishes officially updating and reforming its policies on the matter.

That request was quickly denied, Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger reported Thursday.

“There have been no changes in tampering rules, and there is no moratorium on enforcement activity for possible tampering violations,” NCAA spokesperson Meghan Durham Wright told On3's Pete Nakos. “Any changes to the infractions process — or a moratorium on enforcement of certain rules — would need to be approved by the Division I Board of Directors.

"The NCAA is committed to enforcing the rules as agreed to by NCAA member schools and will always work with members to ensure fair competition and to protect student-athlete well-being in this new era of college sports.”

NCAA statement to @On3: “There have been no changes to tampering rules, and there is no moratorium on enforcement activity for possible tampering violations. Any changes to the infractions process – or a moratorium on enforcement of certain rules – would need to be approved by… https://t.co/HloB96Q9oO
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) March 12, 2026

The matter of tampering has reached the forefront in college athletics as allegations mount about opposing schools contacting players who aren't yet in the NCAA transfer portal in attempts to recruit them to leave their current schools.

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney publicly accused Ole Miss of tampering in January after Cal linebacker transfer Luke Ferrelli signed with the Tigers, started attending classes at Clemson and then changed his mind and transferred to Ole Miss.

"This is a whole other level of tampering," Swinney said. "It's total hypocrisy. ... This is a really sad state of affairs. We have a broken system, and if there are no consequences for tampering, then we have no rules, and we have no governance.

"This is not about a linebacker at Clemson. I don't want anyone on our team that doesn't want to be here. But it's about the next kid and the next kid and the message that's being sent with just blatant tampering being allowed to happen without consequences. This isn't about our program. It's about college football.”

Clemson filed a formal complaint to the NCAA at the time.

As for the Big Ten's request for a pause on investigating tampering matters, it seems the conference was on its own in that position.

Dellenger reported that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said he's "adamantly opposed" to pausing such investigations, and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said he "does not agree" with the need to stop investigating tampering matters. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey did not comment at this time, but he had previously criticized the NCAA for its lack of enforcement on tampering.

Per Dellenger, the Division 1 Board of Directors in January directed the NCAA to reignite tampering enforcement aggressively, and in a statement to Yahoo Sports in January, the NCAA stated its enforcement team has processed about 95 tampering cases thus far this year.

It's perhaps the issue in college sports driving the most public frustration from coaches -- not just in football -- who are speaking out on the need for true enforcement.