NCAA Logo
President Donald Trump is trying to solve the problems plaguing collegiate sports without including college athletes in the conversation.
At a roundtable hosted by the White House on March 6, Trump provided solutions for challenges throughout collegiate sports. No athletes were included at the roundtable. Instead, legislators and public figures discussed the future of the industry. As Trump announced new ways to improve the industry, the perspective of the student-athlete was the key representation missing.
NCAA President Charlie Baker, former Alabama University head football coach Nick Saban, New York Yankees President Randy Levine, and each of the Power Four Commissioners were present.
Trump said the inability to set equivalent rules across the country, due to states’ different regulations for Name, Image, and Likeness deals, is contributing to the chaotic regulatory processes in collegiate sports.
“Crazy things are happening,” Trump said. “We have a seven-year freshman. We’re seeing things we’ve never seen before. College players not wanting to go pro because they make more money in college.”
Trump said he will sign an executive order in July 2026 to address NCAA authority, NIL issues, compensation problems, and governance concerns. The executive order will prohibit athletes from receiving pay-for-play payments from third-party companies but will not restrict NIL payments. Although Trump will sign the executive order, he said Congress is ultimately responsible for implementing permanent changes.
Another bill entitled the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements Act was intended to go to a vote in the House of Representatives in December 2025. The Act would give the NCAA limited exemption authority in order to protect themselves from lawsuits over eligibility rules and would inhibit athletes from becoming employees of their schools.
The Act, which was stalled before reaching the floor, would change collegiate sports entirely. Although Trump and many members of the roundtable reflected on the future of college sports, they did so without the perspective of how it would affect college athletes.
The roundtable featured many public figures involved in collegiate and professional sports. Yet, Trump’s attempts to ‘save sports’ lack the perspective of actual athletes. No matter if NIL is positive or negative for collegiate sports, it is clear that collegiate sports have become an industry in need of regulation.
Rather than issuing executive orders to band-aid these issues, Congress must legislate to create a federal standard to protect college athletes and the industry as a whole. Third-party funds are commercializing the culture of college sports and blurring the lines between a student-athlete’s education and sports career. Current athletes ought to represent themselves and provide context to legislators instead of non-athletes gathering in a room, lacking the obvious and important perspective of these students.
