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Donald Trump Getting Involved In College Sports NIL Policy

U.S. President Donald Trump floated the idea of an executive order to address college athlete payments and created a committee on the issue. The Wall Street Journal first reported Trump’s consideration of a potential executive order to “increase the scrutiny” of the “explosion” of NIL payments. The report followed a conversation between the president and […]

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3 weeks ago

May 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Donald Trump Getting Involved In College Sports NIL Policy

U.S. President Donald Trump floated the idea of an executive order to address college athlete payments and created a committee on the issue.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Trump’s consideration of a potential executive order to “increase the scrutiny” of the “explosion” of NIL payments. The report followed a conversation between the president and University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban. A record seven NCAA titles to his name, Saban is an outspoken critic of the implementation of changes from NIL antitrust lawsuits.

Sources with knowledge of the meeting said that Saban proposed not ending NIL but ‘reforming’ current policies related to athlete payments. Trump reportedly agreed with Saban and said he’d look into creating an executive order.

On May 1st, Trump travelled to Tuscaloosa to speak at the University of Alabama’s commencement ceremonies. There, he spoke with Saban as well as the Republican U.S. Senator from Alabama, Tommy Tuberville, about college sports. Tuberville said in a Tweet that the pair had a “great conversation” about the “importance of regulations in college sports”.

Following Trump’s trip to Alabama, reports said that his administration is creating a committee on college sports. It will be chaired by Saban and Cody Campbell, oil billionaire and founder of the Texas Tech NIL collective.

At this point, few specifics about the potential executive order or the committee are known. However, what is known is that the Republican Party – which holds the presidency and a majority in both chambers of Congress – tends to be more sympathetic to the NCAA and its traditional model that restricts student-athletes from profiting off their name, image, and likeness.

As cases such as House have made their way through the courts, however, the NCAA has signaled its support for a codification of House. The logic behind this is that the governing body wants to solidify the specifics of this settlement to avoid the risk of having to pay more in the future. Read SwimSwam’s post-election coverage of this subject here.

Legislator Support of Regulation

Apart from Trump and Tuberville, another prominent Republican politician who has supported college athlete pay regulation is Ted Cruz. Like Trump, Cruz has met with Nick Saban and discussed the football coach’s frustrations with the new NCAA payment system.

The Texas Senator stepped into the Chair position on the Senate Chamber of Commerce this January. Prior to his appointment, he said that college sport regulation would be a “very, very high priority” if he got the position.

Though Trump did speak with at least one Senator (Tuberville), other legislators from both sides of the aisle were surprised to learn about the White House’s involvement in the issue.

One thing is certain – any bill or executive order on the subject would be incredibly complex. As Tulane sports law professor Gabe Feldman said, “The challenge with any ruling or order is that there are multiple levels that would need to be addressed. This is not just an antitrust issue; it’s also a labor and employment issue. It’s also a Title IX issue. There’s also contract issues, right of publicity issues. There’s a lot in there.”

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Texas coach Steve Sarkisian’s bold prediction for future College Football Playoff champions

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – Alert the statue makers. Their services would be needed in January, if a college football team navigates this season undefeated. That’s the way Steve Sarkisian sees it, anyway. The Texas coach boldly predicted Tuesday that college football might have seen its last undefeated national champion. And in the off-chance that another […]

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53 minutes ago

May 27, 2025

Your Sports Nation

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – Alert the statue makers. Their services would be needed in January, if a college football team navigates this season undefeated.

That’s the way Steve Sarkisian sees it, anyway.

The Texas coach boldly predicted Tuesday that college football might have seen its last undefeated national champion. And in the off-chance that another perfect team emerges, bust out the bronze, Sarkisian says.

Michigan most recently pulled off perfection with its 2023 team. The Wolverines went 15-0, emerging victorious from a four-team College Football Playoff.

Now, with a 12-team playoff in place and a bigger playoff likely on the horizon, national champions play more than 15 games.

This season’s national champion will play a minimum of 16 games. Ohio State captured glory with a 14-2 record last season. The Buckeyes lost twice during the regular season before winning the national championship from the No. 8 seed line.

Ohio State became the first two-loss champion since 2007 LSU. Get used to more of that, says Sarkisian.

“This idea of somebody is going to go 16-0 in college football, man, put a statue up somewhere of that team,” Sarkisian said before the SEC’s spring meetings began here this week, “because I just don’t know if that’s going to happen again.”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian watches his team's game against Texas-San Antonio at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. — Texas coach Steve Sarkisian watches his team’s game against Texas-San Antonio at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Interesting opinion.

Count me among the skeptics, though, that we’ve seen the last of the undefeated national champions. This sport isn’t known for parity. It’s known for a small batch of schools dominating.

Sarkisian himself built a roster that could be poised to do some dominating this year.

FOOL’S GOLD: Big Ten trojan horse lures SEC toward lame playoff format

BIGGER BETTER?: Keep rivalries, or cupcake games? SEC weighs schedule options

Kirby Smart explains why perfection remains possible

Consider Georgia coach Kirby Smart skeptical of Sarkisian’s prediction that we’ve seen the sport’s last undefeated team.

Smart’s 2022 squad went undefeated, one of five teams to achieve the feat during the 10 years of the four-team playoff.

Smart’s thinking goes like this: Unless some framework is put in place to keep a team from outspending everyone else in this pay-for-play era, what’s to stop the emergence of an undefeated super team filled with highly paid players?

“You could end up with some haves and have nots out there,” Smart said, “and ultimately teams could drive prices and go buy a championship with a super team. I think we could see that if there’s not parity. We don’t really know if there’s going to be or not.”

A federal judge is considering whether to approve a legal settlement that would unlock revenue-sharing with athletes. That settlement would cap how much revenue each institution could share with athletes, functioning as something of a salary cap on rosters. However, even in that revenue-sharing landscape, separate NIL deals outside the school framework still could be brokered, allowing a roster to exceed the revenue-sharing cap.

College football’s landscape started evolving after NIL deals launched in 2021. Transfer rules also loosened that year. Those changes made it more difficult for one team – say, Alabama or Georgia – to stockpile a three-deep of all-stars.

“The portal and the lack of the depth” made going undefeated more difficult, Smart acknowledged.

Also, a longer season increases the runway for injuries. Both Texas and Georgia dealt with injuries to their starting quarterbacks last season. Georgia lost in the CFP quarterfinals to Notre Dame while starting a backup quarterback, after Carson Beck injured his elbow in the SEC championship game.

Texas is top candidate to be next undefeated national champion

Sarkisian ranks among the likeliest coaches to produce an undefeated champion within this structure.

The Longhorns possess the necessary ingredients to go undefeated:

∎ A lush bankroll. A handsomely paid roster doesn’t guarantee success, but let’s not kid ourselves, no pauper is winning a title in this pay-for-play model. Ohio State won with the help of spending $20 million to improve its roster. Texas, with its deep war chest, is believed to be among the teams driving up the market price this season.

∎ A good quarterback. Ohio State’s Will Howard peaked at the right time last season and delivered some of his finest performances throughout Ohio State’s four playoff victories. Texas will hand its quarterback reins to Arch Manning. He’s among the preseason favorites for the Heisman Trophy.

∎ A coach (and a school) that attracts talent and develops it. Ohio State’s Ryan Day can recruit and develop. So can Sarkisian. Day entered last season on the shortlist of best coaches without a national championship. Sarkisian heads up that list this season, after Texas’ consecutive trips to the CFP semifinals.

Arch Manning leads a talented Texas team that’s transitioning

Perfection talk aside, it’s evident that Sarkisian likes his roster. Texas must transition to new starters at key positions, including quarterback, but fresh starters doesn’t equate to a youthful roster.

“We’re not necessarily young. We’ve just got some new faces (starting),” Sarkisian said, “guys who have been in our program, who have been working on their craft, who have been developing, and now it’s their opportunity.”

Take Manning, for example. He’s no pup, after two seasons as Quinn Ewers’ backup.

Manning started two games last season while Ewers recovered from an injury, and Sarkisian kept using Manning in select situations after Ewers returned.

The toughest roadblock to Texas achieving perfection probably isn’t the season’s length, but rather the location of its toughest regular-season games.

The Longhorns will play at Ohio State in the season opener and at Georgia in November.

If Manning and the Longhorns beat the Buckeyes at The Horseshoe, the victory would trumpet a message that Texas perfection is possible.

Anyone know any statue makers in Austin?

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas’ Steve Sarkisian makes bold College Football Playoff prediction

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K-State Fans Skeptical About PJ Haggerty’s Potential NIL Package

Kansas State transfer PJ Haggerty will cash in a substantial NIL package with his commitment to suit up for the program this fall. College Basketball insider Adam Zagoria reported Haggerty will receive a $2 million base NIL value and $500k in incentives. Although he won’t receive the $4 million he initially asked for, K-State still […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 27, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Kansas State transfer PJ Haggerty will cash in a substantial NIL package with his commitment to suit up for the program this fall.

College Basketball insider Adam Zagoria reported Haggerty will receive a $2 million base NIL value and $500k in incentives. Although he won’t receive the $4 million he initially asked for, K-State still had enough to land arguably the top player left in the transfer portal.

Most Wildcats fans believe they got the All-American on a bargain and are ecstatic to welcome him on board. The 6-3 redshirt sophomore averaged 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 47.6 percent from the field. He was named the 2025 American Athletic Conference (AAC) Player of the Year.

However, some are skeptical of the move due to uncertainty about whether Haggerty will truly move the needle for the Wildcats.

“Congratulations to Kansas State for making a really dumb decision,” one user tweeted. “The kid is a pretty good player but is nowhere close to being worth that kind of money.”

The deal mirrors Coleman Hawkins from last season, who later revealed the deal was worth $2 million. Given the team’s underwhelming results after Hawkins’ addition, another transfer portal player reportedly receiving the same amount leaves fans a little worrisome.

Either way, Haggerty, alongside a talented transfer portal class put together by coach Jerome Tang, should at the very least be expected to help improve from the team’s 16-17 record from last season, when the program finished No. 9 in the Big 12.

Will Howard Should Be Elated By Former NFL GM’s Aaron Rodgers Take

K-State Gets Major Transfer Win With PJ Haggerty Commitment

Kansas State Fans Gush Over Transfer Marcus Johnson’s Rare Physical Build

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Bethune-Cookman To Play In Tallahassee Regionals

The 2025 NCAA Baseball Championship selection committee seeded Bethune-Cookman in the Tallahassee Regional. The 2025 SWAC Baseball Tournament Champions will open the tourney against No. 9 seed and host school Florida State. No. 4 seed Bethune-Cookman (37-21) will play its first NCAA Tournament since 2017. The Wildcats will have the first pitch versus the […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 27, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Bethune-Cookman - SWAC Champs — Bethune-Cookman – SWAC Champs / BCU Athletics

Bethune-Cookman Wins The 2025 SWAC Baseball Tournament Championship — Bethune-Cookman – SWAC Champs / BCU Athletics

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Kirby Smart voices opinion on who should decide NCAA transfer portal window

As discussions continue about the future of the NCAA transfer portal window, the question remains who will make that decision. Coaches have held discussions about potential changes, but Georgia coach Kirby Smart shared who he thinks should decide what things look like down the road. Smart called for the House v. NCAA settlement implementation committee […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 27, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Kirby Smart voices opinion on who should decide NCAA transfer portal window

As discussions continue about the future of the NCAA transfer portal window, the question remains who will make that decision. Coaches have held discussions about potential changes, but Georgia coach Kirby Smart shared who he thinks should decide what things look like down the road.

Smart called for the House v. NCAA settlement implementation committee to be in charge of finalizing the transfer windows. The group of 10 athletics directors from the Power Five conferences will play central roles in implementing the terms of the agreement if Judge Claudia Wilken grants final approval.

While the transfer portal is not part of the settlement terms, Smart said the committee will have to make decisions on issues outside of the agreement. That, he argued, includes the transfer windows.

“I think it’d be a great question to ask some people, but my opinion is the implementation committee, which comes from the settlement,” Smart said from the SEC spring meetings in Destin when asked who’s in charge of deciding the portal windows. “Appointed [10] ADs, two from each Power [Five] conference, who hear the conference’s perspective. And ultimately, those [10] ADs – which are appointed and they’re kind of coming off the settlement – will have to make a lot of implementation decisions that are not part of the settlement. The ‘nuggets,’ let’s call it. Here’s the settlement, and then the nuggets are going to come from these [10] ADs.

“That’s very critical, in my mind. It’s not really talked about. Nobody’s talking about the portal day. They just don’t think it’s a big deal. Is it two? Is it one? When is it?”

Because the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC and NCAA are the named defendants of the House v. NCAA lawsuit, they are charged with regulating and enforcing the settlement. When the suit was filed, the Pac-12 still had 12 members.

The committee met multiple times in recent months ahead of April’s final approval hearing in front of Wilken in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Among the tasks of the athletic director group will be drafting rules to facilitate compliance, creating a system to ensure that NIL deals are legitimate and forming an entity to enforce the settlement rules.

The group of 10 athletic directors on the committee includes Texas A&M’s Trev Alberts, Oregon State’s Scott Barnes, Kentucky’s Mitch Barnhart, Georgia Tech’s J Batt, Ohio State’s Ross Bjork, Washington’s Pat Chun, Cincinnati’s John Cunningham, Clemson’s Graham Neff, Washington State’s Anne McCoy and Arizona’s Desireé Reed-Francois.

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Transfer Portal News

In the 2024 recruiting cycle, quarterback Aidan Glover held a 3-star billing. He ranked 40th at his position and 644th overall. He ended up going to Missouri, picking the Tigers over listed offers from Georgia Tech, Indiana, Oklahoma State and others. After taking a redshirt last season, he entered the transfer portal in December. Given […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 27, 2025

Your Sports Nation

In the 2024 recruiting cycle, quarterback Aidan Glover held a 3-star billing. He ranked 40th at his position and 644th overall.

He ended up going to Missouri, picking the Tigers over listed offers from Georgia Tech, Indiana, Oklahoma State and others. After taking a redshirt last season, he entered the transfer portal in December.

Given how many power-conference teams recruited Glover, it’s logical to believe he will find another FBS home.

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James Franklin and Nick Singleton Featured On EA Sports College Football 26 Deluxe Edition Cover

Following the highly anticipated return of EA Sports’ College Football 25 video game last summer, the next chapter of the franchise is officially underway. EA Sports has kicked off the rollout of College Football 26 by unveiling the covers for both the standard and deluxe editions. While the standard edition exclusively features the electric wide […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 27, 2025

Your Sports Nation

While the standard edition exclusively features the electric wide receiver duo of Alabama’s Ryan Williams and Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, the deluxe edition features two of Penn State football’s most notable figures in James Franklin and running back Nick Singleton.

Last year, Singleton partnered with EA Sports and College Football 25 for a specific NIL deal, and as one of college football’s best running backs, it’s no surprise that he was placed at the front lines of the newest deluxe edition cover. Directly behind him, of course, is Franklin, who can be seen sporting a sweet Penn State letterman’s jacket.

According to EA Sports, the game is set to launch on July 10 with both editions currently available for pre-order. Additionally, the company announced that a launch trailer will be released on May 29 via the EA Sports College YouTube channel.

Please choose an option below.

Cadyn is a sophomore broadcast journalism major at Penn State. Hailing from the great state of Texas, he is a die hard Dallas sports fan. You’ll often see him voicing his opinions on music and sports on X/Twitter @cgill214.

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