PHOENIX -- President Trump on Friday weighed in on college athletics again, signing an executive order that sought to address everything from transfer limits to protecting women’s and Olympic sports from cuts.
The order offers some options for federal enforcement but largely urges the NCAA to change rules on a number of areas and calls upon Congress to pass federal legislation.
The president’s order is one NCAA President Charlie Baker welcomed even as the details of how it would meaningfully change the chaotic landscape of college athletics was unclear.
“I certainly appreciate his interest in the issue,” Baker said before the start of the Women’s Final Four. “It’s pretty clear that he made clear that we need Congressional action to sort of seal the deal on a number of these things, which is good because we do. And I think getting a bipartisan agreement on a number of those issues would be a really big thing.”
While Trump’s order takes direct aim at athletes’ ability to transfer multiple times, it would not have an immediate impact on the transfer portal when it opens for basketball next week. The order, Trump’s second on collegiate sports, does not go into effect until Aug. 1.
Trump’s directives are sure to face legal challenges, particularly around limiting athletes’ ability to transfer, which has been often struck down by the courts, and could set up a scenario in which schools have to either abide by the order or by the courts.
It includes the possibility of schools losing federal funds. Trump directed the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance and ensure compliance.
The order called upon the NCAA to establish rules to:
- Create clear eligibility limits, including a five-year participation window.
- Set transfer rules.
- Ban pay-for-play agreements facilitated by collectives.
- Protect and expand women’s and Olympic sports.
- Guarantee medical care for athletes.
- Establish protections from unscrupulous agent conduct.
“Federal action is essential to protect the future of college athletics, and on behalf of the Big 12, we appreciate President Trump’s commitment to advancing a solution, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark told Sports Business Journal in a statement on Friday. “To build on this momentum and provide long-term clarity and stability, Congress must now act.”
In a statement, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said, “The establishment and enforcement of clear national standards for college athletics remains a top priority” and noted the order provides “important clarity to help ensure that all programs operate under comparable policies.”
It’s unclear what further rules the order anticipates the NCAA would pass regarding protecting women’s sports, which have been protected under Title IX since 1972.
As the House Settlement has been implemented with schools able to share up to $20.5M in revenue this year, the vast majority of those funds going to football and men’s basketball players, with a small share going to female athletes.
“Absent a comprehensive national solution, therefore, the escalating financial demands to succeed in football and basketball combined with the significantly loosened rules governing eligibility, transfers, and pay-for-play schemes may force curtailment of women’s and Olympics sports,” the order states.
Trump rescinded guidance made late during the Biden administration that clarified that name, image and likeness payments are subject to Title IX regulations.
Without federal regulations or enforcement, already one lawsuit is proceeding against Oregon regarding NIL efforts failing to comply with Title IX and further lawsuits are expected to challenge those deals and the distribution of revenue sharing funds.
The order also directed the Department of Education and Administrator of General Services to collect more data in college athletics to ensure compliance with the order. It cited counting roster spots as well as athletic scholarships “or other payments.”
Under the 1994 Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA), the education department already collects data on participation, sport sponsorship and spending for institutions receiving federal funds, which covers virtually all of intercollegiate athletics.
Trump’s order also called upon the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and the attorney general to take enforcement action.
It calls on Congress to pass legislation, though various iterations have been in the works for years as the NCAA, athletic conferences, schools and the Olympic movement have lobbied for legislation to stabilize the system.
That Trump is wading deeper into college sports waters comes as on the heels of his repeated interest in the space. Hopes had previously hinged on the SCORE Act, which, at one time, was seen as the most viable bill to date on the subject.
SCORE centers on the preemption of state NIL laws, along with codifying a number of aspects of the House Settlement but lacked the necessary backing to move forward with a vote that was expected in the House earlier this year. It also was/will face stiff opposition from Democrats in the Senate, including some who have argued that current proposed legislation does not protect women’s and Olympic sports.
“Based on my own conversations with a lot of Democrats and Republicans in Washington over the course of the past month or two, I do think there’s a lot of common ground there,” Baker said. “And a lot of it’s driven, frankly, by a lot of the court activity where for many of the folks in D.C. it was by far the biggest single motivator to take seriously this idea that if you really want to create a framework that has some sustainability and get out of this thing where it will take forever in the courts.”
