That is called collusion, how did it work out for Major League Baseball owners? If the two big conferences went that direction "independently" the players would be in court the next day and they would win just like the baseball players always do.
It's not collusion unless you collude. If both conferences come to the decision independently, it's not collusion.
COURT: Why did you, the SEC, ban NIL?
SEC: Because we've existed for X amount of years without NIL and we feel that's the best way to accomplish our academic mission.
COURT: Why did you, the Big 10, ban NIL?
BIG TEN: Because we've existed for X amount of years without NIL and we feel that's the best way to accomplish our academic mission.
COURT: Why did you choose to implement the ban now?
BOTH CONFERENCES: We didn't change things, the Supreme Court did. And the Supreme Court said if we didn't like the way things were changed, it could be reinstated on a conference-by-conference basis. We watched NIL for a year and, just like everyone predicted, it turned into a complete shitshow immediately. So now we're going back to the way we always did it.
COURT: The players say you colluded. Did anyone from the SEC leadership discuss NIL bans with anyone from Big 10 leadership?
BOTH CONFERENCES: No.