White House pauses plans for President Trump's commission on college sports as Congress leaders discuss legislation
The White House has decided to wait before making an official foray into college sports.
Plans for a presidential commission on college sports co-led by former Alabama head coach Nick Saban have been paused, Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger reported Thursday. The move is possibly rooted in the commission's potential impact on current Senate negotiations over legislation in the same sphere.
It's unclear how long the pause will last, but it will give a group of five senators, including Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) more time to reach an agreement on legislation for a sport whose leaders have been begging for federal intervention in recent years.
Cruz said earlier this month the talks were a work in progress, via The Athletic:
'That is actively moving forward,' Cruz said on May 6. 'We are negotiating. I think we are close to having a bipartisan product that can move. … I think college athletics is in crisis, and Congress has an obligation to step in and solve this problem.
Planning for the commission had reached the point that President Donald Trump and Texas businessman Cody Campbell, the other potential co-leader of the commission had started to pool recommendations for membership and send out invitations to stakeholders.
The commission was also paused amid private concerns from Big Ten and SEC officials over its concepts and after Saban, the man tasked to lead the group alongside Campbell, outright questioned the necessity of its existence.
"I don't know a lot about the commission first of all, secondly, I'm not sure we really need a commission,' Saban said on 'The Paul Finebaum Show' on Wednesday. 'I think that a lot of people know exactly what the issues are in college football and exactly what we need to do to fix them. I think the key to the drill is getting people together so we can move it forward. I'm not opposed to players making money, I don't want anybody to think that. I just think the system — the way it's going right now it's not sustainable and probably not in the best interests of the student-athletes across the board or the game itself.'
Saban has emerged as a prominent voice in the debate over how to rework college sports after several years of structural and financial upheaval, which has seen student-athletes gain the right to receive NIL compensation, transfer at will and, if the House settlement finally goes through, get directly paid by schools.
The court system, all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, has taken a dim view of the NCAA's legal authority to limit its athletes' rights.
Saban, who has railed against the NIL system for years, met with Trump earlier this month about the matter. Trump was later reported to be considering an executive order addressing NIL payments, though a law passed by Congress would likely be far more welcomed by the NCAA and its leaders considering the executive branch's lack of oversight over college sports.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
10 wicked WNBA Week 5 outfits, including Angel Reese's teeth shoes
There were many good looks during Week 5 of the 2025 WNBA season, but Chicago Sky Forward Angel Reese and her teeth shoes might have topped them all. Welcome to For The Win's weekly fashion roundup, where we bring you all the best tunnel outfits and gameday looks from across the league. This week, there were several sweet denim looks and matching shorts sets that people were rocking, and we're totally here for it as summer approaches. However, on Friday, June 13, (maybe this was intentional given the historically spooky vibes of the day?) Reese turned heads and the heat up just a notch by wearing *checks notes* teeth shoes. Advertisement Ahead of a matchup with the Atlanta Dream, the Sky forward was dressed head to toe in different shades of gray and completed the whole look with some under-the-radar heels that mimicked a mouth with chompers. (See the video of Reese showing them off in the first tweet below.) We can't say we've ever seen that before, but now that we've seen it, you need to as well. Here's Reese's epic shoes and nine other wicked looks from Week 5: Week 5 WNBA outfits 1. Angel Reese, Chicago Sky 2. Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings 3. Rickea Jackson, Los Angeles Sparks 4. Kelsey Plum, Los Angeles Sparks 5. Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Connecticut Sun 6. Maddy Westbeld, Chicago Sky Chicago Sky forward Maddy Westbeld walks the tunnel ahead of a matchup with the New York Liberty on June 10, 2025 at Barclays Arena in Brooklyn, New York. (Courtesy of the Chicago Sky) 7. Aaliyah Nye, Las Vegas Aces 8. Temi Fagbenle, Golden State Valkyries 9. Kahleah Copper, Phoenix Mercury 10. Gabby Williams, Seattle Storm This article originally appeared on For The Win: WNBA Week 5 outfits: 10 wicked looks, including Angel Reese's teeth shoes
New York Times
16 minutes ago
- New York Times
Minnesota Governor Praises Hoffman Family for ‘Heroic Actions'
Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota praised Hope Hoffman, the daughter of State Senator John A. Hoffman and his wife, saying her actions at the family home after a gunman wounded her parents were 'heroic' and saved countless lives. The suspected gunman, Vance Boelter, 57, was arrested on Sunday after a two-day manhunt, the largest in state history. Officials said the suspect entered the Hoffmans' home in suburban Minneapolis early Saturday by posing as a police officer. Hope Hoffman called 911, according to charging documents, prompting a law enforcement alert that led officers to also check the home of State Representative Melissa Hortman nearby. On arrival at the Hortmans' house, officers exchanged gunfire with the gunman before he escaped. Ms. Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in that attack. 'I'd like to say on behalf of the state of Minnesota, the heroic actions by the Hoffman family and their daughter, Hope, saved countless lives, and we are grateful,' Mr. Tim Walz said at a news conference late Sunday to announce the arrest of Mr. Boelter. Mr. Walz did not elaborate on the Hoffmans' actions. The couple's nephew, Mat Ollig, wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday that has since been deleted that Mr. Hoffman's wife, Yvette, 'threw herself onto her daughter, using her body as a shield to save her life.' Drew Evans, the head of the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said investigators had talked with the Hoffmans on Sunday but provided no new details about the events at their home. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CNN
17 minutes ago
- CNN
Supreme Court to hear arguments over whether states may subpoena faith-based pregnancy centers
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to take up a First Amendment appeal from a faith-based nonprofit that runs five 'crisis pregnancy centers' in New Jersey and that is fighting a subpoena from the state's Democratic attorney general. First Choice Women's Resources Centers had urged the conservative court to throw out a decision from the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals siding with the state. That decision required the nonprofit to continue litigating its objections to the subpoena in state court. New Jersey officials subpoenaed the center in 2023 as part of investigation into whether the organization violated consumer fraud laws. Pregnancy centers are opposed to abortion, but New Jersey officials said their marketing may have left some patients with the impression that they could receive abortions at the facilities. The subpoena was aimed at evaluating whether the center 'or its staff engaged in misrepresentations and other prohibited conduct,' according to the state. It sought advertisements, donor solicitations, and the identification of licensed medical personnel. The center framed the subpoena as a demand for donor names. If that view of the subpoena prevails, then New Jersey's actions may be in conflict with a 2021 Supreme Court decision in which a majority found unconstitutional a California law requiring the conservative Americans for Prosperity Foundation to disclose its donors. A divided 3rd Circuit ruled in December that the center's claims were not yet ripe because state courts had not yet enforced the subpoena against them.
