Ahead of one of the biggest weekends in college sports, Trump signed an executive order on Friday that threatened funding and federal grants to colleges who didn’t alter their programs to suit the government.
The E.O. orders governing bodies to create new regulations concerning name, image, and likeness rules, calling for limits on athletes’ transfers, and more funding for women’s sports.
Court decisions have weakened the NCAA’s authority and opened the door to expanded compensation for athletes and freer movement between schools – changes that have upended the economic model and reshaped the traditional structure of college athletics.
“College sports cannot function without clear, agreed-upon rules concerning pay-for-play and player eligibility that can’t be endlessly challenged in court, as is the case now,” the White House said in a news release about the order.
Trump says he is taking action to “save college sports.”
Federal agencies will decide whether colleges and universities would be eligible for federal grants and contracts. Similar declarations his administration has taken has been an attempt to force universities to alter other policies around DEI, trans rights, and the kinds of classes they offer.
NCAA president Charlie Baker said he hadn’t read the E.O. yet but “there’s a bunch of things in there that are pretty consistent with the things we’ve been talking to them and to Congress about.”
Asked why the NCAA needs an executive order to help solve its issues, Baker said, “On some of these issues, it’s hard for us to do this without at least some support from the feds. The courts are one way to settle the debate, but it takes a really long time, and it creates a lot of uncertainty.”
There is bipartisan support along with collegiate leadership for a laundry list of proposed fixes for college sports.