The politics of college sports—once the province of bowl committees, booster clubs, and the occasional congressional hearing—arrived squarely at the White House this week. And President Donald Trump, never one to miss a cultural flashpoint, warned that the escalating economics of college athletics could soon swallow the universities themselves.
Speaking Friday at a summit in the East Room, Trump gathered lawmakers, conference commissioners, the president of the NCAA, and the CEO of the U.S. Olympic team to confront what he described as a looming crisis in collegiate sports. The catalyst: the rapidly expanding system of name, image, and likeness (NIL) payments and the increasingly chaotic transfer portal that now governs player movement, according to reports.
Notably absent from the meeting were the athletes whose newfound earning power lies at the center of the debate.
Trump told the group he intends to issue a sweeping executive order within the next week aimed at transfer policies, NIL regulations, and other elements reshaping college sports. The move, he suggested, could spur congressional action—or, failing that, trigger legal challenges that might ultimately return the issue to the courts.
President Donald Trump said rising football costs and NIL contracts are harming college sports and may require legislation or an executive order pic.twitter.com/bpVzJNmjTg
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 6, 2026
“The whole educational system is going to go out of business because of this,” Trump stated when questioned about prioritizing college sports amid global conflicts, including the war in Iran.
For decades, college athletics operated under a relatively simple bargain: scholarships in exchange for amateur play. That model has unraveled in recent years after court rulings and state laws forced the NCAA to permit athletes to profit from endorsements and other deals. The result has been a rapidly evolving marketplace where top players command multimillion-dollar agreements and transfer freely between programs.
Trump made clear he preferred the old system.
“I thought the system of scholarships was great,” he remarked, criticizing the recent court settlement that paved the way for athlete compensation as “horrible,” saying it “threw the sports world and college the college athletic world into ‘tithers.’”
College football's most decorated head coach Nick Saban spoke at the White House on Friday at a college sports roundtable hosted by President Trump.
Saban called on lawmakers to fix issues he has seen at the collegiate level, where Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals have… pic.twitter.com/cFN4QVaT2i
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 7, 2026
Federal legislation emerged as the most widely discussed path forward.
Much of the conversation focused on the proposed SCORE Act, a House bill that has stalled in Congress but could serve as a framework for nationwide standards governing athlete compensation, transfers, and eligibility rules. House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested momentum may now exist to advance the measure.
Participants also debated new revenue strategies to offset the rising costs associated with athlete payments. One proposal involved revising the Sports Broadcasting Act to allow college conferences to collectively negotiate television rights—an approach supporters argue could unlock billions in additional revenue.
Texas Tech regent Cody Campbell, an advocate of the idea, estimated the change could generate roughly $6 billion to support football, basketball, and Olympic sports over the long term. Campbell offered to participate in a smaller advisory group helping shape Trump’s planned executive order, though officials from the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten disputed the revenue projections.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey urged broader Senate involvement in the reform effort, arguing the issue extends beyond simply finding new revenue streams.
“This is not about revenue, this is about structures and national standards,” Sankey said.
One provision under discussion is a limited antitrust exemption for the NCAA—an idea supported by many athletic administrators but opposed by numerous Democrats who argue it could weaken athletes’ legal rights.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), whose committee would play a key role in any Senate legislation, warned that the clock is ticking for universities struggling to manage the new financial reality.
“If we wait another year, wait another two years, the programs in your state are going away and the students in your state are losing their scholarships,” Cruz warned. “It would be an absolute travesty if we let that happen.”
Whether Washington can impose order on a billion-dollar sports industry built on tradition, television contracts, and booster money remains an open question. But the debate, once confined to campus boardrooms and NCAA meetings, has now landed firmly in the national political arena.
