Former President Donald Trump has expressed a desire to turn back the clock on college athletics, specifically the changes brought about by the NCAA’s name, image, and likeness (NIL) policy reforms.
During a roundtable discussion held on Friday, which included approximately 50 participants from various sectors such as sports, business, and politics, Trump voiced his preference for the traditional pre-NIL framework. He shared his wish to revert to the previous system, stating, “I’d like to go exactly back to what we had and ram it through a court.”
Furthermore, Trump disclosed his intention to issue an executive order within the upcoming week. This order aims to revert to the regulations in place before the Supreme Court’s significant NIL decision in 2021.
Acknowledging the likelihood of legal opposition, Trump mentioned his plan to seek judges who might interpret the case differently from the original verdict. “I will have an executive order within one week, and it will be very all-encompassing,” he assured. “And we’re going to put it forward, and we’re going to get sued, and we’re going to see how it plays, OK, but I’ll have an executive order, which will solve every problem in this room, every conceivable problem, within one week, and we’ll put it forward.”
The president admitted that he expects legal challenges regarding the order and said he hopes to find judges that will rule differently than the initial ruling.
“I will have an executive order within one week, and it will be very all-encompassing,” Trump said. “And we’re going to put it forward, and we’re going to get sued, and we’re going to see how it plays, OK, but I’ll have an executive order, which will solve every problem in this room, every conceivable problem, within one week, and we’ll put it forward.
“We will get sued. That’s the only thing I know for sure.”
Trump also demanded that lawmakers continue negotiations for federal legislation to be implemented that could provide some guidelines in the NIL space.
At the roundtable, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said that his chamber has the votes necessary to pass the SCORE Act, which would prevent NCAA athletes from being considered employees and give the organization and its conferences their antitrust protection to enforce rules.
The bill would require bipartisan support in the Senate, however, where it would need a 60-vote margin in order to pass.
Many who spoke at the meeting were in agreement that college sports needs some form of governance, with legendary former Alabama football coach Nick Saban saying that there is hardly an emphasis on athletes getting a quality education.
“How much does anybody talk about getting an education anymore?” Saban asked. “Nobody talks about it at all, which is the most important thing any of these student-athletes can do in terms of enhancing the future.”
Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua told the room that college sports are approaching the “point of no return,” adding that football is taking resources meant to fund Olympic and women’s sports.
In addition to the roundtable, bipartisanship did unfold in Congress on Friday, with Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) agreeing on a bill to amend the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, permitting college conferences to consolidate and sell their media rights.
The legislation is expected to be introduced into the Senate next week.
