The college football legend was on hand to deliver a speech at the University of Alabama last week for its Class of 2025 alongside the U.S. President – and the two are now set to link up once more

Nick Saban is set to play a major role in Donald Trump’s commission into college athletics following on from crunch name, image and likeness (NIL) reform meetings with the U.S. President.

The former Alabama head coach recently met with the 78-year-old ahead of last week’s commencement address at the University of Texas for the Class of 2025, where both were on hand to speak to students inside Coleman Coliseum. There was a notably awkward moment when Trump called for Saban to return to the football program as the latter welcomed him on stage.

The President was also met with a standing ovation when speaking about transgender athletes in sports, pledging to defend the sanctity of women’s athletics. But it was his meeting with Saban prior to the event that has proved to be most interesting, with Trump now said to be considering an executive order after the Crimson Tide legend noted how the college sports landscape has changed for the worse.

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With Trump on the same wavelength, it appears a match made in heaven, and the politician has now gone to extra lengths to work alongside Saban by putting him in charge of co-chairing his commission into college athletics, CBS Sports reports.

The move will see Saban serve alongside Texas businessman Cody Campbell, founder of Texas Tech’s Matador Club NIL collective and chairman of the Texas Tech board of regents. The commission would examine prominent issues facing college sports, most notably the transfer portal.

Other issues set to be addressed include the unregulated booster compensation that goes directly to athletes, the employment of college athletes and Title IX, Yahoo Sports reports. Any executive order, however, would likely still need congressional action, NCAA president Charlie Baker stated last month.

Since 2021, the NCAA has allowed college athletes to profit from NIL, providing them with a way to earn money while not being directly paid by their institution. It has resulted in many students, those who play college football and basketball, especially, to become millionaires before they’ve even turned professional.

As of this fall, the NCAA is also set to allow college athletes to participate in revenue sharing following the settlement of lawsuits brought forward by former athletes. However, Saban’s concern about NIL and the influx of money damaging college sports has influenced Trump to take a stand.

Since calling a day on his coaching career at the collegiate level, Saban has joined ESPN for its “College GameDay” program, and admitted earlier this year that NIL was an issue following his decision to step down as Alabama head coach.

“Now, I think everybody is frustrated about it. We had an SEC conference call, 14 coaches on there, and there’s not one guy you can talk to who really understands what’s happening in college football and thinks that it’s not an issue,” Saban told ESPN.

According to the Wall Street Journal, however, Saban is not asking to end NIL deals outright. Instead, he wants to reform how players and universities approach the topic. Regardless, Trump and his administration are working on language to potentially change NIL deals.

With NIL rules becoming a hotly debated topic of conversation, considering the thousands of players entering the transfer portal, Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville gave his two cents on the matter during an appearance on 100.9’s ‘The Game with Ryan Fowler’, where he stated he was all for change to NIL rules. The Republican senator, however, claimed it was the Democrats who held up any potential changes to the rules.

“I think we can get it on the floor, the problem is getting it past a Democrat group that really wants nothing to do with making this country better,” he said. “They don’t care about college sports or education; they worry about the power that they control in this country.”

University of Massachusetts field hockey alum Claire Danahy earned her first selection to the USA Women’s National Team, USA Field Hockey has announced.

A Chelmsford native, Danahy was a five-year starter for the Minutewomen and a leader of the 2024 NCAA Final Four team. Danahy finished her time in the maroon and white by receiving NFHCA First Team All-American honors after leading Massachusetts while ranking fifth in the A-10 with 29 points. An All-Atlantic 10 First Team and NCAA All-Tournament Team recipient, Danahy led the A-10 and ranked seventh nationally with 13 assists.

Danahy scored five game-winning goals during the 2024 campaign, including the game-sealing tally against Harvard to secure Massachusetts’ first final four berth since 1992.

Danahy will be part of a 24-athlete squad that will compete in the Cathy Bessant International Series against No. 11 Ireland. The series will feature two International Hockey Federation-sanctioned matches Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8, both starting at 10 a.m.

Danahy becomes the first Minutewomen to make the U.S. Senior National Team since Hannah Prince, who played for Team USA from 2014-21.

After some recent retirements, this competing group of 24 athletes is a mix of veterans and emerging talent. Danahy was added to the USWNT full-time following the trial in April. For each sanctioned match the competing squad will be narrowed to 18 athletes.

UML shines

In the NCAA’s latest four-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) report, UMass Lowell Athletics earned a 985 APR mark, which exceeds the national average of 984, while eight River Hawk athletic teams also met or exceeded this four-year average, including baseball, men’s cross country, ice hockey, men’s track & field, women’s cross country, field hockey, women’s lacrosse, and women’s track & field.

“This is yet another shining example of the caliber of our River Hawk student-athletes,” said Director of Athletics Lynn Coutts. “They are as dedicated and determined to their success in the classroom as they are to their sport. I am incredibly proud of their academic performance and commitment, and grateful to our coaches and staff for supporting them so well in all their endeavors.”

Each academic year, every Division I sports team across the country calculates its APR using a simple and consistent formula. Each term, scholarship student-athletes can earn one point for remaining eligible, and one point for staying in school or graduating. For schools that do not offer scholarships, recruited student-athletes are tracked.

The UMass Lowell baseball team once again was recognized by the NCAA APR report for having earned a perfect four-year average of 1,000, with ice hockey now joining the perfect ranks in the 2020-24 four-year average cycle.

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Following the conclusion of the 2025 season, the Penn State softball program hauled in six Big Ten Conference postseason accolades highlighted by a program-record quartet of appointments to the All-B1G Second Team, the league office announced in a release Friday afternoon.

Penn State saw six combined Big Ten postseason honors, with sophomore designated player Brooke Klosowicz, fifth-year first baseman Meagan Ricks, senior third baseman Maddie Gordon and senior right fielder Haylie Brunson securing All-Big Ten Second Team honors, while freshman left fielder Natalie Lieto landed B1G All-Defensive Team laurels and junior utility Jordyn Jochims secured PSU’s designation as the Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree. The Nittany Lions’ record-shattering 2025 offensive season was heavily rewarded by the league’s coaches in the conference’s postseason release, with Penn State standing as one of five Big Ten programs with at least four selections to the All-B1G First and Second Teams combined. Penn State booked a program-record with four Second Team honors, surpassing the prior record of three set in the 1999, 2001, 2011 and 2024 campaigns.

Klosowicz, a native of Johnsburg, Illinois, booked an individual season worthy of enshrinement in the Nittany Lion record book, with the second-year star turning in the fourth-best single-season batting average in Penn State history with a .422 mark while landing a myriad of additional single-season records. She now owns the PSU single season doubles record with 23, as well as the program’s RBI record with 53. Additionally, Klosowicz became just the third woman in Penn State history to record 50 runs scored in a single season, joining Cassidy Bell’s 55-run total in 2013 and Macy Jones’ 53-run campaign in 2016. In total, Klosowicz started in all 52 games for PSU this season and mustered 65 hits with 38 of those going for extra bases, including a team high-tying 13 home runs. Klosowicz becomes the 32nd Second Team All-B1G honoree in school history and garnered the 71st All-Big Ten appointment since the program’s arrival in the league in 1992.

The Winter Haven, Florida, native Ricks published the strongest Big Ten campaign at the plate for the Blue & White this season, leading the Nittany Lions with a .400 batting average against conference foes. In her only season at Penn State, Ricks established herself as one of PSU’s most dominant offensive performers, both in the batter’s box and on the basepath. She recorded a .359 overall batting average over the course of 51 appearances and 49 starts, logging 20 combined extra-base knocks split between a dozen doubles and single-season career-high eight home runs. Her season-long OPS of 1.065 ranked third on the team behind Klosowicz and Gordon, while her 11 stolen bases on the basepath paced the Penn State roster in 2025. Ricks becomes the 72nd All-Big Ten selection in Penn State program history as well as the 33rd Nittany Lion to land a placement on the All-B1G Second Team.

Gordon, a native of Shenandoah, Virginia, becomes the first Penn Stater to earn multiple All-Big Ten selections in a career since program legend Bailey Parshall accomplished that feat with a First Team bid in 2022 and Second Team selection in 2023. Gordon, a four-year veteran with the Blue & White, secured her second All-Big Ten Second Team designation in a row after picking up her first conference postseason accolade in 2024. Her 12 home runs rank third on the PSU roster this season behind Klosowicz and Brunson in addition to ranking 10th in a single season in Happy Valley all-time. Gordon turned in a .342 batting average in 2025 in addition to logging the second-best OPS on the roster behind Klosowicz with a 1.122 mark in the statistic. Gordon completes her Nittany Lion career with the fourth-most home runs hit in a Penn State batting career, logging 28 since her inaugural appearance on the diamond in 2022. The Nittany Lion published the 73rd All-Big Ten season in school history in addition to logging the program’s 34th All-B1G Second Team selection.

Brunson, a native of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, tallied the most dominant individual season in her collegiate career in 2025, capping things off with the first All-Conference selection in her four seasons split between Pittsburgh and Penn State. The senior Nittany Lion established herself as one of the most consistent hitters in the Penn State batting order over her final college campaign, logging a season-long .345 batting average that ranked fourth among qualified hitters on PSU’s record-breaking offense. Her 13 home runs tied atop the team leaderboard alongside Klosowicz, while her 1.049 OPS ranked fourth on the team. Additionally, she turned in 49 runs batted in over the course of the 2025 season, matching the second-most single-season RBI in program history, only trailing Klosowicz’ record-breaking RBI tally from this year. Brunson wrapped up PSU’s quartet of All-Big selections, becoming the 74th All-Big Ten designee and 35th All-B1G Second Team selection over the program’s 34 years in the league

The Monroe, Connecticut, native Lieto turned in one of the most impressive freshman campaigns Penn State has ever seen on the defensive side of the ball, owning the best fielding percentage on the roster outside of the catcher position with a .990 mark. She has recorded 98 total putouts this season with three outfield assists highlighting her defensive contributions, logging a single error over the course of her 50 collegiate appearances. Lieto joins a historic list of Nittany Lion defensive stars, becoming just the fourth Penn Stater in program history to garner a placement on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team. Lieto landed the first B1G All-Defensive Team appointment since Lilia Crouthamel garnered a placement in the 2022 campaign. She also earned the third selection as an outfielder, with Lieto joining Crouthamel and Bell as one of the most dominant outfield athletes in school history.

Jochims, a native of Rocklin, California, secured Penn State’s designation as the Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree in recognition of her exemplary leadership and dedication to the Nittany Lion program. In addition to her contributions as a leader on the PSU roster, Jochims celebrated several individual milestones in 2025 highlighted by her first collegiate game played and hit in the Penn State victory over Loyola Chicago on February 15 during The Fonseca Memorial Tournament at USF. The student-athletes chosen for the Sportsmanship Award are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

Penn State completed its 60th anniversary season on Thursday, May 8, with the Nittany Lions booking an appearance into the quarterfinals of the 2025 Big Ten Conference Softball Tournament. PSU finished the year with 25 total victories and shattered multiple single-season program records including batting average, home runs, RBI, runs scored and total bases. The Blue & White also mustered the program’s 16th all-time victory in the Big Ten Tournament with a 6-2 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first round of the 2025 event, securing its first Big Ten Tournament opening-round win since the 2023 campaign and third opening-round victory in the last four years under the direction of head coach Clarisa Crowell.

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Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State softball. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion softball team on Facebook at /pennstatesoftball as well as Twitter and Instagram @PennStateSB.