President Donald Trump announced plans to form a presidential commission looking into college sports and its “unwieldy landscape” last week. Later that day, On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed the 45th and 47th President of the United States planned to name Nick Saban as a co-chair of the working group.

The only issue? Not much else is known about the commission. Even the former Alabama head coach and current ESPN College GameDay analyst is still in the dark.

“To be honest with you, I don’t really know much about this commission,” Saban said Wednesday morning ahead of his annual appearance at the Regions Traditions Pro-Am in Birmingham, Alabama, according to BamaOnline. “I don’t really know what the commission will do. I think we know what needs to be done, I just think we need to figure out who’s got the will to do it. I learned one thing about coaching all these years: when you get into a subject like this that’s very complex, it’s probably good not to talk about it off the cuff. So I’ll find out more about it, and if there’s something I can do to help college football be better, I’ll always be committed to do that. I was committed to do that as a coach, to help players be more successful in life, and I’d continue to do that same thing now.”

Yahoo! Sports insider Ross Dellenger first reported Trump’s plans to form a commission focused on college sports. The Athletic also added the president will be “very engaged” because of the national importance he sees in college athletics.

The commission on college sports is expected to “deeply examine the unwieldy landscape of college sports, including the frequency of player movement in the transfer portal, the unregulated booster compensation paid to athletes, the debate of college athlete employment, the application of Title IX to school revenue-share payments and, even, conference membership makeup and conference television contracts,” according to Yahoo! Sports. It is expected to be a months-long endeavor.

Saban was asked a follow-up about his personal concern with the current state of college football. Then, he dismissed the notion that it’s gone off the rails.

“Not really. I think that there’s always things we can do to improve it. And I know there’s a lot of people out there concerned about the direction that we’re headed in,” Saban added. “But I also know there’s a lot of good people out there that can do the type of things that you need to do to get it moving in the right direction.”

Nick Saban to co-chair President Donald Trump commission on college sports

News of Trump’s plan to consider an executive order and form a commission come with the backdrop of the House v. NCAA settlement, which continues to go through the final approval process. Attorneys filed an updated brief last Wednesday that sought to address Judge Claudia Wilken’s concerns about roster limits, and the plan would create a grandfather provision for athletes who lost their spots. A decision on final approval is expected in the coming weeks.

However, plaintiffs’ attorney Steve Berman called out Nick Saban and President Donald Trump’s discussions as the settlement seeks final approval. Legal experts say an executive order could create more problems, and Berman called for the conversations to cease while both sides work toward final approval for the House v. NCAA settlement.

“While he was a coach, [Nick] Saban initially opposed NIL payments to athletes, pushing to add restrictions and red tape through national legislation to add ‘some sort of control,’” Berman said in a statement. “During his time scrutinizing the athlete pay structure, he made tens of millions of dollars and was previously the highest-paid coach in college football.

“Coach Saban and Trump’s eleventh-hour talks of executive orders and other meddling are just more unneeded self-involvement. College athletes are spearheading historic changes and benefitting massively from NIL deals. They don’t need this unmerited interference from a coach only seeking to protect the system that made him tens of millions.”

NCAA leadership has taken multiple trips to Capitol Hill for discussions about NIL and college sports. Last month, leaders from across collegiate athletics took a trip to Washington, D.C. for College Sports Day. Saban has also spoken in front of Congress about regulation, notably doing so in a roundtable hosted by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) last year.

NCAA president Charlie Baker and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey also spoke multiple times about the need for national legislation to help regulate NIL. Saban also did so on ESPN’s College GameDay this past football season, calling for stability with both NIL and the transfer portal.

— On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.

Auburn alum Charley Barkley is hellbent on not wasting any more of his money on helping fund a college athletics team, as the former Tiger has made it clear that he’s given the most ‘illegal or legal’ money of any former player. 

The conversation surrounding NIL has been a hot-button topic in college athletics over the past five years, with more changes on the way with the upcoming House settlement that will see schools paying players directly. 

One of those former players who has been outspoken about the amount of money he’s spent in the past on his school is Charley Barkley. After telling Dan Dakich recently that he was done helping out his Auburn Tigers with buying players because of the lack of return on investment, it’s clear that Barkley is not changing the way he thinks on this subject. 

While there is still the need for boosters to donate to the programs they love, it’s become an interesting thing to watch as players only stay on-campus for a short period of time. All this does is drive away the folks who want to be invested in a program, especially if an athlete is only around for a year, and that’s being generous. 

Charles Barkley Loves Auburn, But He’s Not Wasting His Own Money On NIL, With NCAA Being A ‘Bunch Of Idiots’

Charles Barkley Is Not Wasting Money On NIL

A problem that many donors are facing right now is the mindset of giving money to a school so that they can purchase the best players, only to see them leave for a better paycheck down the road. 

For Charles Barkley, he’s done enough for Auburn in his mind, and whether that was in a legal or illegal way, wasting his own money is no longer an option. 

“Number one, players being able to go to a different school every year for more money, and I’m not even sure how it works in basketball,” Barkley told OutKick. “At least in football you get a guy for three years and pay him a lot of money. I’m not sure giving a guy millions of dollars to come to school for six months, I don’t see a return on investment, and how that benefits anybody. 

“Like I’ve said, I feel pretty good whether legal or illegal, about the amount of money I’ve given Auburn. I don’t think anybody has given more, legal or illegal. But the notion I’m gonna up the ante because you can do it now, and give them millions of dollars so we can just be successful in basketball, that’s just stupid.”

Transfer Portal Continues Creating Financial Chaos, Barkley Is Confused

The one portion of the current landscape of college athletics that continues to draw confusion from the leaders is the transfer portal. Right now, there is a push from conference commissioners, and coaches, to change the portal calendar, which would lead to just one period. 

But, until that aspect of this whole situation is changed, we are going to be searching for answers every step of the way. As for Charles Barkley:

“Listen, I don’t know how this stuff works. This transfer thing is crazy,” Barkley noted. “I’m not even sure what the hell is gonna happen to college sports. To be able to go to a different school every year is absurd and crazy. And, to be able to be a free agent every year is just crazy. 

“Like, they have some serious issues, and I don’t know how it’s gonna turn out. I feel bad, you have to understand most of these kids, 99% of these kids, are never gonna touch a pro sport in any capacity. Most of them are getting a free education, which is really important, the most important thing by far. But, I just don’t know how it’s gonna turn out, because it’s ugly out here right now.”

‘Inside the NBA’ host Charles Barkley. (Getty Images)

He’s not wrong, and the majority of college coaches would tell you the same thing about the current landscape of collegiate athletics. 

But the one thing that is clear is donors, alums and boosters are starting to have buyers’ remorse about investing so much money to help an athletic program with no guarantee of actually winning a championship. 

And, what kind of return on investment are they actually getting, even with their team winning a title? 

That’s the problem that plenty of athletic departments are seeing when they pick up the phone and call a donor looking for money. 

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The Villanova University baseball team will close its 2025 season with a three-game series against Seton Hall this weekend (May 15-17) at Villanova Ballpark.
 
QUICK HITTERS

• Saturday’s game will be the 200th all-time matchup between two of the oldest programs in college baseball. Seton Hall leads the series, 116-81.
• Villanova’s senior day ceremony will be held before Saturday’s game. Four seniors and seven graduate students will be recognized.
• Shortstop Michael Whooley has an active 27-game on-base streak, the program’s longest since Jeremy Hunt in 2006.
• Whooley and second baseman Brayden Leonard are the only Wild[1]cats to start and play in all 47 games.
• Catcher Jason Neff leads Villanova with 15 home runs and 62 RBI. He’s tied for fifth in homers and tied for eighth in RBI on the Wildcats’ single-season all-time leaderboard.
• Alec Sachais’ six saves are the most in a season by a VU pitcher since 2021.

SENIOR STUDS    
The 2025 senior class will be honored in its final home game at Villanova Ballpark before the series finale on Saturday. Four seniors (Connor Hale, Marcus LaBuda, Shane Solari and Josue Valdez) and seven graduate students (Luke McCollough, Jake McElroy, Jason Neff, Bobby Olsen, Alec Sachais, Tyler Shaw and Stephen Turzai) will be recognized. Together, the class accumulated eight BIG EAST Weekly Honors, including four positional player of the week awards (3x Pitcher, 1x Player). Additionally, the class has been incredible in the classroom, earning a combined 13 BIG EAST All-Academic Team selections and 22 mentions on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. The seven position players in the class made 377 starts in 484 games, while the five pitchers made 162 appearances with 359 innings pitched.
 
COOL HAND LUKE             
Starting pitcher Luke McCollough has been a consistent force in the rotation for the Wildcats over the last several weeks. Last Saturday (May 10) at St. John’s, McCollough threw seven strong innings to earn the win. The righty retired 10 straight Johnnies throughout the middle innings to lift Villanova to a 7-5 victory. McCollough has gone at least 6 1/3 innings and given up three earned runs or fewer in each of his last three starts. He has tallied 15 strikeouts and just six walks over that span.
 
SETON HALL AT A GLANCE
The Pirates enter the weekend at 22-29, with an 8-10 record in the BIG EAST. Last weekend, Seton Hall took two of three games against Georgetown. Outfielder Aidan Robbins leads the conference in batting average (.411). 
 
Thursday’s series opener will begin at 3 p.m. ET. All three games of the series will be streamed live on FloSports.
 
 

On July 1, 2021, the NCAA implemented an interim policy that enabled student athletes to earn money via their name, image and likeness. This move led to fans around the country turning eyes to how the landscapes of college football and basketball may change, but hockey was largely ignored.

That ignorance has continued with the House v. NCAA proposed settlement centered around revenue sharing. If approved, Division I schools are officially permitted to share athletic department earnings with student athletes starting in the 2025-26 academic year.

This move favors Big Ten teams — specifically in college hockey. Coveted puck programs such as Boston College, Denver and Boston University need to rely on their historic names and image to recruit high-end talent, while Big Ten programs can now sign off on a check to lure a top-tier prospect its way.

As big-time football and basketball universities such as Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State funnel in a plethora of NIL and revenue due to consistent success, that money can be allocated into other sports, and it’s already been rumored to find its way onto the ice.

Just last week, the Nittany Lions were speculated to be getting aggressive with NIL packages to Canadian Hockey League (CHL) recruits. This was headlined by a report offering a deal north of $250,000 to projected top six 2025 NHL entry draft pick and Ontario Hockey League (OHL) winger Porter Martone, according to Philadelphia Flyers beat writer Will James.

With Gabriel Foley, another NHL reporter, confirming hearing a dollar figure near the 250,000 mark mentioned by James, that only means one thing: the Big Ten might take over college hockey.

The effects of NIL

NIL has quickly taken center stage in NCAA Division I hockey following a monumental rule change made in early Nov. 2024 allowing CHL athletes to sign with NCAA teams.

Some of the best hockey players and prospects in the world play in the CHL, but prior to the new precedent announced several months ago, they were not allowed to step foot in the NCAA.

To put it into context, 14 CHL players were selected in the first round of the 2024 NHL entry draft, compared to just three collegiate hockey players hearing their names called. 

These athletes who were committed to play in the CHL were deemed professionals and barred from the NCAA due to its amateurism rules, which were in part due to them signing NHL entry-level contracts.

With eligibility for the NHL draft requiring participants to be between the ages 18-20, many prospects are selected prior to their decision on whether to play in the CHL or the NCAA. This rule change now allows top-tier prospects who currently play in the CHL to transition to college puck, and a majority of them will be lured over with NIL money.

As schools like Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota have dominated college hockey for the past 77 years, the loads of NIL money they have available will only make them more daunting for the rest of the country.

With the initial revenue sharing cap per school sitting tentatively at around $20.5 million per year, that opens many doors for Big Ten programs. Minnesota’s men’s hockey team reportedly accounts for 5.1% of athletic department revenue, meaning it has roughly $1,054,020 to spend on players. This is somewhat the case for Penn State, which is estimated to have approximately $394,839 available, ranking fourth-most among NCAA programs.

Is this good for college hockey?

While many immediately look at the possibility of Big Ten teams taking over the sport and deem it as a negative, there is a different perspective to take on this situation — NIL will grow NCAA hockey.

Considering CHL players are not paid a salary but receive stipends and a countless amount of benefits, NIL and revenue sharing can handsomely compensate these athletes and draw an influx of them to college hockey. The substantial increase in talent, even if a majority of it lies in the Big Ten, will increase ratings and grow the sport exponentially.

With top-tier NHL prospects committing to the NCAA instead of the CHL, it will bring an entire new crowd to the sport. Additionally, as more elite talent comes and goes through the NCAA, more television package deals with well-known networks will follow, increasing the revenue for college hockey and putting it on the map.

One of the major NIL contributors gaining traction has been Penn State. After its Frozen Four run last season, more highly-touted athletes have been rumored to join Hockey Valley. This began just four days following the Nittany Lions’ loss to Boston University with the addition of goaltender and former fifth-round NHL draft pick Kevin Reidler.

Weeks later, another domino fell for the blue and white. Penn State received a commitment from Luke Misa, a top-line center previously on the Brampton Steelheads of the OHL. Since his commitment, premier NHL prospects have been reported as possibilities, with the most notable being Martone and Luke Misa’s brother, Michael Misa.

Whether the Nittany Lions land NHL-caliber talent or not, they now maintain the resources to attract top players away from some of the most storied college hockey programs.

MORE HOCKEY CONTENT

“What’s the — if you can say — NIL valuation of your current roster?” one reporter asked Mark Pope during his first press conference of the offseason, just to see what would happen. Maybe the Kentucky head coach would be refreshingly transparent in an era where rumors of ridiculous numbers are thrown around both individually and for teams across all sports? At minimum, it could lead to a rant about the current state of college athletics and the difficulty of roster construction in recent cycles before the House v. NCAA settlement hopefully calms down what has been the Wild Wild West every offseason.

Pope’s response?

“It’s close to $200 million,” he joked, holding back a belly laugh.

Fair enough.

Then came the insight, Pope using the insane NIL estimate as part of a bigger and totally serious point: Kentucky deserves the best at everything. We can joke about NIL asks and agents taking over the world, but at the end of the day, the winningest program in college basketball history should have the best talent and the money it takes to build championship rosters. If that’s what it takes, that’s what the Wildcats need.

When Kentucky is included in lists highlighting the most lucrative budgets and expensive rosters, that’s a good thing.

“We would like to win at everything. We really would,” Pope said. “This is the flagship program in the country, so I’m fully onboard with all of it.”

It’s not just about NIL, either — it’s everything that comes with having the winningest tradition and biggest brand in the sport. He wants all of the smoke, ranging from the top talent to the toughest opponents to the coolest uniforms.

Everything.

“We want to play the hardest schedule, we want to play the best teams, we want to win the most games, we want to have the best players, we want to have the highest NIL, we want to have the coolest uniforms, we want to have the most media attention. This is Kentucky,” Pope continued.

He used that opportunity to confirm the program’s support has been overwhelming from the very top to help make that happen. No complaints about not being on the same page with administration — they’re giving him everything he needs to be successful leading the Kentucky Wildcats.

“We’re going to do this the very best we can,” he said. “We’re blessed, we’re really blessed to have President [Eli] Capilouto and Mitch Barnhart and some of the most committed, generous fans and donors and supporters in all of college basketball. We have the best donors in college basketball. We have the best fans in college basketball. This is the University of Kentucky. I never forget that. We should be the best at everything.”

To come full circle, yes, the program is doing just fine when it comes to NIL — whether it’s a $200 million budget or not.

“Put NIL, put the transfer portal on the list,” Pope continued. “Our job is to go be the best at everything. We’re not shying away from that. It’s important to us.”