Trump unveils eagerly anticipated executive order concerning college sports. Contrary to White House expectations, it's not an immediate solution.
President Trump Signs Executive Order to Address College Sports Crisis
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday, aiming to provide federal guidance to the wild world of big money in college sports. The order, which outlines a detailed policy on college sports, seeks to preserve amateurism, scholarship opportunities, and non-revenue sports, while curbing pay-for-play practices and legal challenges.
The key provisions of the executive order include:
- Prohibition of Third-Party Pay-for-Play Payments: The order bans payments from boosters, collectives, or other third parties to college athletes that are tied to athletic performance or inducement to transfer schools. However, it allows legitimate, fair-market-value compensation such as brand endorsements to preserve student-athletes' amateur status.
- Protection and Preservation of Scholarships and Participation Opportunities: The order emphasizes maintaining and expanding scholarship opportunities, with a specific focus on protecting women’s and non-revenue generating sports. It requires revenue sharing and funding structures to ensure these sports remain viable and supported.
- Clarification of Student-Athlete's Status: The order directs the Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board to clarify whether student-athletes are employees, a determination crucial to defining benefits, compensation, and labor rights. The intent is to preserve non-revenue sports and the educational opportunities provided by college athletics.
- Response to Antitrust and Legal Challenges: The executive order directs the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission to take appropriate actions to protect student-athletes' rights and to safeguard college athletics from ongoing and potentially debilitating antitrust lawsuits.
- Federal Coordination and Implementation: Various federal agencies are tasked with developing and implementing plans to enforce the order’s policies, particularly the elimination of pay-for-play arrangements, within 30 days of signing.
While the order sets federal guidelines and signals significant federal oversight, it does not create new laws or binding regulations by itself. It functions mainly as a directive to executive agencies to prioritize these issues. Legal and legislative processes, including bills like the SCORE Act, remain necessary to enact comprehensive statutory reforms.
Notably, the order does not prohibit athletes from receiving payments at a fair-market value from separate parties, such as brand endorsements. Athletic departments with more than $50 million in revenue should maintain the same number of roster spots as the previous year and the maximum under the rules. Those with over $125 million in revenue should provide more scholarship opportunities in non-revenue sports for the 2024-25 season.
The NCAA's Division I Board of Directors has already moved to create oversight of all NIL deals over $600 and established rules for handling deals deemed inappropriate. Athletic departments that made less than $50 million should not shrink scholarship opportunities or roster spots in non-revenue generating sports.
The White House's fact sheet claims the executive order "saves college sports," but the language itself does not implement any immediate changes. The order does not provide an enforcement mechanism, using the word "should" instead of "shall" which is typically used in binding federal laws and executive orders.
The order cites college sports' unique place in American culture and their vital role in American success in the Olympics. It remains to be seen how these policies will unfold in the coming months, as administration officials develop plans for implementation. The order is viewed as a foundational step rather than an immediate solution, with ongoing debates over athlete compensation, scholarships, and legal protections continuing at legislative and judicial levels.
- The executive order, signed by President Trump, aims to address the crisis in college sports by providing federal guidance, focusing on policies ranging from sport to education-and-self-development, policy-and-legislation, and general-news.
- In an effort to preserve amateurism and scholarships in college sports, the order prohibits third-party pay-for-play payments and stresses the need for protecting and preserving participation opportunities, including non-revenue sports and women's sports.
- As part of the order's goals for college sports, learning opportunities provided by the athletic program and the status of student-athletes as employees are clarified by the Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board.
