Mark Pope latest to suggest using NCAA Tournament to enforce eligibility policy
By Andrew Olson
Published:
The hottest topic in college basketball right now is the eligibility of professional players. Multiple former G League players have joined college teams, including some as midseason enrollees.
The latest controversy surrounds Alabama‘s Charles Bediako. A key member of Alabama’s 2022-23 team, Bediako is back with the Crimson Tide after playing professionally.
The NCAA declined to grant Bediako eligibility because he has signed 3 NBA contracts since his 2023 NBA Draft selection. Bediako’s NBA contracts were 2-way deals, however, and he only played in the G League. On those grounds, he was granted a temporary restraining order on Wednesday, making him eligible to play for the Tide on Saturday.
Kentucky coach Mark Pope did not name Bediako, but notably took time out of his Wednesday postgame press conference to weigh in on eligibility issues.
“I’m gonna take a minute talk about this. Just so you get our word here on what’s happening in the NCAA right now with eligibility,” Pope told reporters. “We’re all shaking our hands being like, ‘This is so incredibly creative.’ I’ll give you my two cents, just so you have it.
“At some point, I don’t have hard feelings towards anybody making any decision. Because every single college program and college coach are the most competitive people in the world. They’re going to try and find any avenue they can to find an advantage. It’s just, it’s what we’re paid to do. It’s what we do.
“The one stopgap that is kind of spreading right now, that maybe has some legs is kind of a last stand is, the NCAA does get to decide who gets to go to the NCAA Tournament. Like they get to decide that. They have that power. And so at some point, when they’ve been very, very clear about what the rules that they’re going to try and enforce, they might lose in court, but they still get to decide what games count towards the NCAA Tournament.”
Mark Pope on the current NCAA eligibility situation:
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 22, 2026
"The NCAA might lose in court, but they still get to decide who makes the NCAA Tournament… At some point, we have to take a stand, and regain some tiny ounce of sanity. This game matters too much."pic.twitter.com/4yxPPmZGMP
Pope wasn’t the first to point to the NCAA Tournament as a way to enforce eligibility rules. The athletic director of UConn also raised the idea to ESPN when commenting on the Bediako ruling.
Denying Big Dance bids, however, could lead to legal issues for the NCAA. In the Bediako case, the TRO states that the NCAA is “restrained from threatening, imposing, attempting to impose, suggesting, or implying any penalties or sanctions” on Bediako, Alabama or UA coaches for Bediako’s participation.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
