WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday that aims to reinforce the rules of college sports in a bid to restore financial stability and protect the future of college athletics.
Friday’s order directs federal agencies to bolster the effectiveness of key college-sports rules on transferring, eligibility and pay-for-play. It seeks evaluations on whether any violations of such rules render a university unfit for federal grants and contracts.
It calls on the relevant governing bodies to update rules by establishing clear eligibility limits, setting transfer rules as well as banning “improper” financial arrangements including pay-for-play agreements facilitated by collectives and similar entities.
The order also calls on Congress to quickly pass legislation to address these critical issues.
Trump issued an executive order in July that sought to block some recruiting payments by third parties to college athletes in big-money sports like football and men’s basketball in order to preserve funds available for women’s and non-revenue sports.
Trump said at a White House event a month ago that the soaring cost of college football programs was hurting college sports in general, and vowed to issue a new executive order that would be more comprehensive.
The value of name, image and likeness – known as NIL – contracts has been rising, especially for football players, creating a costly burden for colleges that is forcing some of them to abandon some other sports, Trump said last month.
Until five years ago, the NCAA prohibited college athletes from accepting compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness. After a 2021 Supreme Court ruling, the NCAA changed its rules to allow college athletes to be paid.
Although football and basketball attract by far the most attention among college sports, many non-football college athletes help feed teams for the Olympics.
College athletics support over half a million student-athletes with nearly $4 billion in scholarships annually and produced 75% of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Mark Porter)
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