White House halts Donald Trump’s plan for college sports commission amid ongoing legislation talks, per report

The White House has put President Donald Trump’s plans for a college sports commission on pause, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. There’s no clear timeline for how long the plans will be halted, but the roadblock appears to be a product of Senate negotiations over ongoing college sports legislation. President Trump initially constructed plans for the commission with the intent to gather information on college athletics’ most pressing issues and solve the types of problems stakeholders — including coaches and conference commissioners — have been vocalizing for years.

Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell and former Alabama coach Nick Saban were set to hold prominent roles on the commission, but the latter pumped the brakes after he emerged as a potential co-chair.

“I know there’s been a lot of stuff out there about some commission or whatever. I don’t think we need a commission,” Saban said. “I’ve said that before. I think we need — we know what the issues are, we just have to have people who are willing to move those and solve those and create some solutions for some of those issues. I’m all for being a consultant to anybody who would think that my experience would be beneficial to helping create some of those solutions.”

Saban is among the countless current and former coaches to speak up with concerns over name, image, and likeness (NIL), the transfer portal and the future of Olympic sports. He spoke with Trump earlier this month ahead of the University of Alabama commencement, at which both addressed the graduating class, discussing with the President the need for NIL reform.

Senator Tommy Tuberville, a former college football coach who made stops at Auburn and Ole Miss, among others, was also heavily involved in building the commission.

SEC and Big Ten will be thrilled

The two most powerful college sports conferences stand to gain the most from the status quo. The unregulated NIL and transfer portal eras benefited the SEC and Big Ten disparately as the richest and most prominent programs distanced themselves from the pack. Legislation to level the playing field could empower the rest of the Power Four and put the ACC and Big 12 on more equal footing.

House v. NCAA settlement takes center stage

With the presidential commission on pause, all eyes turn to the House v. NCAA settlement, which promises to bring substantial change of its own to the college athletics landscape. The arrival of revenue sharing and an NIL clearinghouse, on paper, accomplish some of the same goals as the paused commission.

The settlement terms include a $20 million revenue sharing cap for universities to split among student-athletes. It paves the way for schools to pay their players directly for the first time in NCAA history. NIL deals will supplement student-athletes’ revenue sharing income but must be approved by the soon-to-be-established clearinghouse, which will determine the validity of such deals and prevent schools from using them to circumvent the salary cap.