Ever since President Donald Trump announced his intent to form a presidential commission on college sports, the consensus has tried to figure out what that would actually entail.

As Yahoo! Sports insider Ross Dellenger has reported on the endeavor, the commission is expected to examine player movement in the transfer portal, NIL, and revenue sharing, among several other facets.

The commission is expected to have Nick Saban in a key role—though he isn’t entirely sure what he’d be co-chairing.

Saban’s inclusion at least makes sense, given his impact on the sport and the fact that he’s no longer a player in college football.

The same can’t be said for West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez, who recently expressed interest in joining the commission.

Rich Rodriguez Pitches Role on Presidential NIL Commission With Nick Saban

Rodriguez recently did a radio interview on Sirius XM, where Nick Kosko with On3 Sports reports he shared his desire to team up with who he called the greatest college football coach of all time in this unknown endeavor.

“I will give him my cell number,” Rodriguez said. “If they want an active coach to be on a deal, I’ll be on that sucker. And you know, I’ve got some experience. I could help from a current standpoint. I don’t know if they need me, though, but having Coach Saban on there … he doesn’t have an interest to help his team or whatever … He’s truly about college football.”

According to Rodriguez, someone who has spoken of the importance of culture in the age of NIL and the transfer portal, the state of the sport is one he doesn’t see a pathway to screw up.

“And college football is such a great entity, it’s hard to screw it up, you know?” Rodriguez continued. “I mean, you can do whatever you want; it’s still going to be that passion for your school and for that level of athletes. So we’ve done enough things to screw it up in the last couple of years. I think we’re … going to start trending the other way and get it right, and Coach will help that for sure.”

Rodriguez is likely correct in stating that fan passion and interest will never completely disappear, even if the sport is in disarray.

He accurately assesses that sufficient actions, or the absence of them, have led to the current state of college football.

However, would it be a good idea to include active coaches on this vague commission, the purpose of which Saban is still uncertain about?

There’s no way to guarantee the opinions of active coaches would be without bias, resentment, or hurt feelings on player movement or players being paid, and that those views wouldn’t taint their opinions on a commission.

The first point of order has to be a clear definition of this presidential commission on college sports. That would illuminate whether it’s even remotely appropriate to discuss a panel with current leaders in the sport.

AJ Dybantsa will get paid a lot of money through NIL to play college basketball at BYU. The No. 1 prospect in the recruiting Class of 2025 is expected to make no less than $4 million for what equates to less than 10 months of work.

The financial payments do not involve the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

Dybantsa, the top-ranked recruit in college basketball, received scholarship offers from 29 programs. Kansas, USC, Texas, Ole Miss, Illinois, Baylor, Houston and others were in the mix but his decision ultimately came down to BYU, Alabama and UNC. He chose the Cougars over the Tide and the Tar Heels even though his father finessed the lattermost school into some pretty sweet tickets for a huge game.

Money might not be the only reason Dybantsa landed in Provo but it was perhaps the biggest reason. Members of the Utah Jazz brass stepped up financially to help secure the commitment, which cost anywhere between $4-7 million. The 6-foot-9 small forward denied the $7 million price tag so the deal likely hovers closer to $4.5 or $5 million for one single season.

Regardless of the exact numbers that are out there, BYU boosters once vowed to never lose a bidding war even though the school itself says otherwise. AJ Dybantsa is just one of many recent examples!

BYU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints want to be very clear about the root of the money, no matter how much is being spent. Not one single dollar comes from tithing, which is explained as:

The Bible indicates that God’s people followed the law of tithing anciently; through modern prophets, God restored this law once again to bless His children. To fulfill this commandment, Church members give one-tenth of their income to the Lord through His Church. These funds are used to build up the Church and further the work of the Lord throughout the world […]

Church members give their tithing donations to local leaders. These local leaders transmit tithing funds directly to the headquarters of the Church, where a council determines specific ways to use the sacred funds […]

Tithing funds are always used for the Lord’s purposes—to build and maintain temples and meetinghouses, to sustain missionary work, to educate Church members, and to carry on the work of the Lord throughout the world.

— The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Recruiting does not fall into the category of “the Lord’s purpose.” The Church is not paying AJ Dybantsa. However, he was encouraged by the community to attend a Mormon service and did so on Sunday!