Trump signs order aimed at reforming college sports

President Trump signed an executive order on Friday tightening the rules for eligibility and transfers in the NCAA, his latest attempt to rein in college athletics in the pay-to-play era.

The order expands the NCAA’s authority over college sports, directing the governing body to update its guidelines to cap student athletes’ eligibility at five years and allow only one transfer as an undergraduate without a waiting period.

It also seeks to prevent what Trump calls “fraudulent NIL schemes” in which a player is compensated above fair market value — known as name, image and likeness deals — and establish a national registry of student athletes.

Colleges and universities that do not comply could risk losing federal funding, according to the order.

“The convergence of enormous pressure to win in football and basketball and the loosening, both by litigation and by State legislation, of consistent rules or limits concerning eligibility, transfers, and pay-for-play schemes has created an out-of-control financial arms race in these sports that is driving universities into debt, threatening to siphon resources from other sports, and damaging student-athletes’ educational and graduation opportunities,” the order states.

Trump has long held a desire for sweeping changes in college sports, describing the current NIL landscape as a “disaster” during a roundtable at the White House last month with top executives and coaches from college and professional sports.

The president has advocated for a return to the scholarship-based system following a 2021 Supreme Court decision that found the NCAA’s restrictions on education-related benefits for student-athletes at the time violated federal antitrust law.

Shortly after that decision, the NCAA adopted its NIL policy. A $2.8 million settlement in 2025 then opened the door for revenue sharing between players and schools, marking a departure from the amateurism model.   

“Everybody was happy, and now you got yourself a mess,” Trump said during the event, foreshadowing plans for an executive order that he expected would be challenged in court.

“I just don’t think it’s right that a judge is allowed — that knows nothing — is allowed to destroy college sports and colleges,” the president continued. “And I’d like to see you go back to where you were, enhance it a little bit through some compensation, and let them take you to court because no matter what you do, you’re going to be sued.”

Friday’s order marks the second time Trump has tried to take the matter into his own hands absent congressional action. Last July, he issued an executive order titled “Saving College Sports” that included several changes to the NIL system.

It comes a day before the Final Four in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

The tournament averaged more than 10 million viewers through the second weekend of competition, the largest audience for the event since 1993, according to the NCAA and its media partners at CBS and Turner Sports.