Ad Disclosure
Nick Saban downplays need for Donald Trump’s reported college sports commission
Published:
Despite reports of Nick Saban being involved with president Donald Trump’s college football commission, the legendary coach downplayed the need for an official commission on Wednesday.
According to a report from The Athletic, Saban is expected to be named co-chair of the Presidential commission along with Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell. However, Saban indicated he has significant questions about the reported commission during an appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday afternoon.
“First of all, I don’t know a lot about the commission,” Nick Saban said. “Secondly, I’m not sure we really need a commission. I think a lot of people know exactly what the issues are in college football and know exactly what we need to do to fix them.”
Saban said he first started talking with the White House about these issues when President Trump spoke at Alabama’s spring commencement earlier this year. While Saban isn’t sure that a Presidential commission is necessary, he does believe that work needs to be done in order to fix the current system in college athletics.
“I don’t think I should be at the tip [of the spear],” Saban said. “I think I’m someone that has lots of experience and certainly would like to help anyone who would seek our help to try to help fix it. I spent my whole life, 50 years, trying to help players be more successful in life. I want to see us continue to be able to do that. Not just in football, but in all sports across the board. I mean, we’ve got to protect Olympic sports whether they produce revenue or not because it’s opportunities for young people to get an education. It trains a lot of people for the Olympics.”
Here’s video of Saban’s comments with Finebaum:
More details regarding the commission — and Saban’s potential involvement — are expected to be revealed in the coming weeks and months.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
