In a rare example of the NCAA doing something right, an absurd request from the Big 10 Conference to suspend tampering rules and ongoing investigations with a complete moratorium on enforcement was denied by the association.

“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 said via 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.”

During a time in college sports where everyone feels things are out of control, especially in the area of tampering, the idea from the Big 10 felt like a step in the wrong direction.

Right now, the NCAA is not doing enough to prevent tampering or stop teams from abusing transfer rules. However, ongoing legal battles aim to address those issues rather than allowing the system to become a complete free-for-all.

“The fundamental structural problem is this: the current framework has chosen to impose significant negative consequences on student-athletes who enter the transfer portal — loss of scholarships, NIL arrangements, facilities access, academic support, and relationships with coaches — while simultaneously prohibiting the pre-portal communication that would allow those student-athletes to determine whether risking those consequences is worthwhile,” the Big 10 argued. “These rules were not designed for a world in which student-athletes are compensated market participants making annual decisions with significant economic consequences. The collision between the old rules and the new reality is producing outcomes that harm the very population the rules were designed to protect.”

The conference is correct in arguing that the rules need to be overhauled, but suspending them completely would lead to full-blown chaos at a time where folks are trying to bring the chaos to an end.

President Trump is supposed to be signing an executive order following this month‘s roundtable, which will face its own set of challenges. Still, in a time like this, steps in the right direction over the wrong one feel necessary.