Trump issues executive order to bolster college sports rules 04-Apr 06:25

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.