Donald Trump said during the “Saving College Sports” roundtable on Friday that he planned to sign a new executive order on college sports “within one week” that would take aim at the NIL era and help college sports return to “what it was before” with scholarships.
President Trump also feared he would be sued over the executive order but hoped that a favorable judge wouldn’t block the order from taking effect.
This isn’t Trump’s first aim at changing the landscape of college athletics. In July, Trump signed an executive order that aimed to combat pay-for-play in college athletics. That subject resurfaced on Friday during the college sports roundtable that included all 4 power conference commissioners as well as legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban.
There were concerns voiced to Trump during the roundtable about college sports issues in the complicated NIL era. Trump also voiced his displeasure with the current system multiple times while suggesting that college athletics return to the prior, pre-NIL world of doing its business.
Trump told reporters during the question-and-answer period that his new executive order in the aftermath of Friday’s roundtable concerns would be issued within the next week. He added that the new executive order would be “more comprehensive” than the last order that he signed in July.
The Friday roundtable was attended by many prominent figures in the world of college athletics, including NCAA president Charlie Baker and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.
Interestingly, there were no current college athletes at the roundtable.
The College Football Playoff has become a huge part of that college sports landscape in recent years, and here is how Kalshi currently breaks down the contenders for the 2026 Playoff:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
