Trump to sign executive order targeting NCAA authority in college sports

President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order for college sports this week after hosting a roundtable discussion last month addressing several key issues.

CBS News reported that the order, which would be Trump’s second, could be signed as early as Friday. The outlet added that the order will aim to increase the NCAA’s control over athletes in the new era of name, image and likeness.

Last month, Trump hosted NCAA President Charlie Baker, former Alabama head football coach Nick Saban, New York Yankees President Randy Levine and each of the Power Four commissioners, among others, at a roundtable meeting. Trump held the roundtable to examine solutions to key challenges, including NCAA authority, NIL issues, collective bargaining and governance concerns.

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“This is the future beyond college sports. This is the future of universities,” Trump said as he kicked off the roundtable. “The amount of money spent and lost by otherwise very successful schools is staggering in a short period of time. The situation will only get worse. We must save college sports and, I believe, universities.

“Crazy things are happening. … We have a seven-year freshman class. We’re seeing things we’ve never seen before. College players don’t want to go pro because they make more money in college,” he added.

Trump said he would write an executive order “based on great common sense.”

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 14: U.S. President Donald Trump holds the football presented to Trump during the presentation ceremony for the Commander-in-Chief Award to the Navy Midshipmen football team in the East Room of the White House on April 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy is awarded to the winner of the American college football series between teams from the US Military Academy (Army Knights), US Naval Academy (Navy Midshipmen) and US Air Force Academy (Air Force Falcons). (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

SCORE ACT RECEIVED SUPPORT FROM MORE THAN 20 CONSERVATIVE GROUPS AS THE NIL REFORM STRUGGLE DEVELOPED

The SCORE Act was at the forefront of the roundtable. It was planned to be voted in December However The vote was recently canceled. The White House approved the legislation, but three Republicans — Byron Donalds of Florida, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Chip Roy of Texas — voted with Democrats to keep it from coming to the floor. Democrats largely opposed the bill and urged House members to vote against it.

The law would give the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption and ban athletes from being employees of their schools, in hopes of protecting the NCAA from potential lawsuits over its eligibility rules. It prohibits schools from using student fees to fund NIL payments.

The president’s July order prohibits athletes from receiving pay-for-play payments from third-party sources. However, the order did not impose any restrictions on NIL payments to college athletes from third-party sources. It also calls for schools’ responsibility to preserve resources for non-revenue sports.

President Donald Trump watches the college football game between the U.S. Army and Navy at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 13, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP)

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A month before Trump’s order, a judge approved a settlement between the NCAA, its most powerful conferences and lawyers representing all Division I athletes. The agreement means the NCAA will pay close to $2.8 billion in back injuries over the next 10 years to college athletes who competed from 2016 to 2025. The agreement also allows college programs to pay athletes directly.

Last month, Trump signed an executive order to keep the Army-Navy game as a standalone contest.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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