Riley Gaines reacts to John Calipari’s fiery NCAA speech

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the NCAA is mired in problems. And time and time again, he has managed to get on the wrong side of almost all of them: Name, image and likeness, the transfer portal, eligibility rules, men competing in women’s sports. The list grows by the day and leadership continues to be inadequate.

Earlier this week, University of Arkansas men’s basketball coach John Calipari spent nearly seven minutes at a press conference revealing something many in college athletics already knew: the system is broken. He didn’t mince words. He gave the NCAA some guidance on how to stop operating as a corrupt sports organization (“fugazi,” as he called it) so that college sports can truly serve the athletes who make it possible.

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After the clips went viral, Calipari doubled down on X, writing: “I will continue to use whatever influence I have to ensure the health and longevity of our game.”

I spent four years at the University of Kentucky while Calipari was coaching there, and I can tell you I’ve never seen him excited in a press conference (and he was known for being fiery). And he is far from alone. His anger is not only understandable, but also justified.

Higher education itself also faces a reckoning. The records are slipping. Education is booming. Parents are questioning whether four years and six figures are worth it, especially as campuses become increasingly chaotic, radical activism and administrators more interested in appeasing ideological mobs than educating students.

As private companies offer direct career plans and professional pathways promise real financial rewards, university presidents struggle to justify their interest. Too often, they kneel to paid liberal protesters who seek to destroy rather than preserve American institutions, traditions, and Judeo-Christian values.

JOHN CALIPARI DEMOLITED THE NCAA AFTER THE NBA PLAYER ENTERED COLLEGE MID-SEASON: ‘WE HAVE NO RULES’

Bo Jackson #25 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs the ball against the Indiana Hoosiers during the 2025 Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 6, 2025. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

And yet, even now, universities still have one entity that has long featured unified campuses and inspires national pride: college football.

College football is the front porch of higher education. It is the marketing arm of our most well-known universities. When someone says they went to a Power Conference school, no one asks about the economics major. They ask about the football team, the rivalries, the playoff picture or whether the starting quarterback will play on Saturday. A winning football program encourages enrollment, energizes graduates, and increases funding throughout the university.

But college athletics today (especially college football) is on dangerously unstable ground.

As Coach Calipari emphasized, we are completely ignoring the potential collapse of the college sports model without serious reform. Why do I care?

Because if college athletics fails, women’s sports will pay the biggest price. Title IX protections, Olympic development pipelines, and non-revenue-generating women’s programs will be first on the chopping block.

At a moment when women’s athletics is already under attack, the last thing America should do is allow the financial foundations of college sports to collapse. Women’s sports deserve protection, investment and respect, not further erosion of a broken system that no longer works.

College football once represented the best of America: grit, competition, community and the relentless drive to win. Today the governance structure is fragmented, weak and unsustainable. Like higher education itself, it desperately needs reckoning with strong leadership to achieve this.

President Trump’s return to the White House has made one thing clear: When America wants power, he delivers. His America First agenda revived national pride, restored clarity to Washington, and proved that this country does not shy away from big challenges. That same bold leadership is exactly what college athletics needs right now.

The House agreement finally acknowledged what everyone already knew: College athletes deserve a fair share of the tremendous value they helped create. But it also revealed a disturbing truth; The current system cannot survive in its current state. Division I football is the economic engine that funds nearly every sport, from track and field to women’s swimming to gymnastics to soccer. If football collapses, the entire ecosystem goes with it.

resident Donald Trump (C) greets players after the coin toss and before the start of the 126th Army-Navy Game between the Army Knights and Navy Midshipmen at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland on December 13, 2025. (Thoss Katopodis/Getty Images)

But conferences stubbornly cling to a failed media rights model. Each is negotiating alone and leaving billions of dollars on the table. This is money that can support student-athletes, women’s programs and Olympic pipelines for generations to come.

Professional sports solved this problem decades ago. The NFL and NBA are collectively negotiating media rights under antitrust protections provided by Congress through the Sports Broadcasting Act. Conclusion? Competitive balance, massive growth and long-term stability.

College football deserves the same unity and strength. President Trump and Congress have the authority to make this happen.

With expanded antitrust protections, college athletics can collectively negotiate media rights, schedule marquee matchups that will captivate the nation, and generate billions of dollars in new revenue to stabilize programs across the country. This means more scholarships, stronger women’s sports, and more opportunities for every athlete, male and female, pursuing the American dream.

This is more than football. It’s about preserving an American institution that instills discipline, teamwork, faith in God, hard work and love of country. It’s about ensuring that universities embrace these values ​​rather than abandoning them.

President Trump has never been afraid to confront poor leadership or a failing status quo. When the system is rigged or broken, he fights to fix it and puts America first.

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With his leadership and support from Congress, we can restore justice, defend Title IX, protect women’s sports, and ensure that college football and college athletics as a whole emerge stronger, prouder, and more united than ever before.

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