Bedminster, NJ August 9, 2023 -- LIV player Bryson DeChambeau with former President Donald Trump on the driving range as he played at Trump National in Bedminster before the weekend   s LIV Golf Tournament.

Report: President Trump sets committees to discuss future of college sports

President Donald Trump has put together five committees to recommend reforms in college sports, CBS Sports reported Thursday.

Earlier this month, he brought together a who’s who of leaders from college and pro sports, the media and politics for the “Saving College Sports” meeting at the White House. Participants in the meeting said it is becoming more difficult to balance student-athlete development, their personal growth and academics with the demands and pressures of today’s Name, Image, Likeness environment.

Sustainability of some programs also is a concern.

CBS Sports said the committees are expected to begin meeting as soon as next week, with their recommendations sent to the President’s Oversight Committee.

The five committees are Legislative, Rules, NCAA Reform, Media and Player Issues, per CBS Sports.

Some participants have been asked to serve on more than one committee. Those expected to take part include major-conference commissioners, athletic directors, pro team presidents and a league commissioner, current and former government officials, former college and pro athletes, and representatives from private equity firms.

Among the variety of people asked to take part are golfers Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau, former players Tim Tebow and Charlie Ward, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, New England Patriots president Jonathan Kraft, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro, and former head coaches Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and Mack Brown, according to the report.

The President’s Oversight Committee is made up of Cody Campbell, chairman of the Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; New York Yankees president Randy Levine; and Douglas Girod (Kansas), Jeffrey Gold (Nebraska), James Clements (formerly of Clemson), Jere Morehead (Georgia), Donde Plowman (Tennessee), Taylor Randall (Utah) and Lee Roberts (North Carolina), all campus presidents and chancellors.

–Field Level Media

Donald and Melania Trump arive at the Superdome as The LSU Tigers take on The Clemson Tigers in the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship.  Monday, Jan. 13, 2020.

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Report: President Trump wading into NIL waters

President Donald Trump has asked his aides to begin researching the creation of an executive order to better control the name, image and likeness landscape in college sports, The Wall Street Journal reported.

His directive came after a meeting on Thursday with former Alabama football coach Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where Trump was the school’s commencement speaker.

Since 2021, and under pressure from states and the courts, the NCAA has allowed student-athletes to profit from their name, image or likeness. It is too early to know what a Trump executive order would entail.

Saban has been critical of the NIL funding in the past, largely because he was concerned about the effect on college football. The NIL era also has brought a rise to the transfer portal era, with thousands of students across all sports seeking to move schools — some of them for bigger paydays.

“Each year, it’s gotten a little worse,” Saban said last December on “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN. “The first year we had name, image and likeness four, five years ago, we had a $3 million [roster], and everybody was happy. Then the next year it was $7 million, then the next year it’s $10 million. Then this year it’s $13 million. Now they’re looking at $20 million. I mean, where does it end?”

A Houston Chronicle report earlier this week projected the Texas Longhorns would have a budget of $35 million to $40 million for its 2025 football roster.

Per The Wall Streeet Journal report, published Friday, Saban told the president that he wasn’t trying to put an end to NIL funding for players, but instead wanted to see the creation of a more level playing field between the schools with deep pockets and those that didn’t have as much money available.

Trump also has discussed NIL funding with Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), the former head football coach at Auburn.

Saban has previously said the current model is unsustainable for college sports, and Trump apparently agreed.

The NCAA declined to comment to The Wall Street Journal on a potential executive order.

–Field Level Media