Trump College Sports Order Backed by Power 4 Conferences as They Urge SCORE Act Passage
President Trump signed an executive order on April 3, 2026 directing the Education Department, FTC and Justice Department to probe whether violations of college‑sports rules could make universities ineligible for federal grants and contracts, while pushing policies to tighten NIL oversight, set a five‑year participation window and limit transfers to one move plus one after earning a degree. Commissioners of the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12 publicly thanked the president, endorsed federal involvement and urged swift passage of the bipartisan SCORE Act as the preferred national framework to protect women’s and Olympic sports, a move framed against recent legislative setbacks and expected legal challenges.
📌 Key Facts
- President Trump signed an executive order on April 3, 2026, aimed at stabilizing college sports and addressing name, image and likeness (NIL) and eligibility rules.
- The order directs the U.S. Department of Education, the Federal Trade Commission and the attorney general’s office to examine whether violations of college‑sports rules could render a university unfit for federal grants and contracts, effectively threatening to cut federal funding for non‑compliant schools.
- It specifies substantive policy goals including a 'clear, consistent and fair' five‑year participation window and limits on transfers to one transfer plus one additional transfer after earning a four‑year degree.
- The administration frames the order as intended to increase the NCAA’s control over athletes during the NIL era and to pressure Congress to enact national NIL and eligibility legislation; Trump explicitly urged Congress to 'act quickly.'
- Commissioners of the Power Four conferences — SEC (Greg Sankey), Big Ten (Tony Petitti), Big 12 (Brett Yormark) and ACC (Jim Phillips) — publicly thanked the president, endorsed federal involvement, tied their support to passage of the bipartisan SCORE Act, and emphasized protecting women’s and Olympic sports.
- The executive order builds on a July directive that prohibited 'pay‑to‑play' third‑party payments while leaving other third‑party NIL payments intact and requiring schools to preserve resources for non‑revenue sports.
- The SCORE Act has faced political hurdles: it failed to reach a House vote in December when three Republicans joined Democrats to block it, a dynamic the administration is seeking to overcome by pressing executive and legislative action.
- Observers and allies expect the order to trigger litigation given recent athlete legal victories on transfer freedom and eligibility; reactions included Sen. Maria Cantwell noting ongoing bipartisan negotiations and public support from figures such as Texas Tech regent Cody Campbell.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2024, male college athletes out-earned female athletes in NIL deals by $92 million to $19 million across schools that reported data.
Title IX and the Revenue Sharing NIL Era — Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law
As of 2025, White student-athletes comprise 337,836 of NCAA participants, Black 89,090, Hispanic/Latino 38,654, with White at approximately 67% of total, Black at 18%, and Hispanic/Latino at 8%.
In Division I, Black student-athlete graduation rates increased from 56% in 2002 to 81% in 2025, but racial gaps persist, with a 13.2% gap in graduation success rates for bowl-bound football teams in 2024.
Honoring Black representation in the NCAA — NCAA.org
Male NCAA athletes made up approximately 57% of the student-athlete population in 2025, totaling 316,189, compared to females at 43%.
Number of student athletes by gender US 2025 — Statista
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Commissioners of the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12 each issued public statements on social media explicitly thanking President Trump for the executive order and endorsing federal involvement.
- All four Power 4 conferences tied their support for the executive order to a renewed call for Congress to pass the bipartisan SCORE Act as the preferred legislative framework for national NIL and eligibility rules.
- SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark and ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips framed the EO as providing clarity on national standards and emphasized protecting women’s and Olympic sports.
- Confirms that President Trump actually signed the executive order on April 3, 2026, hours before the women’s Final Four, rather than merely planning to do so.
- Details that the order directs the Education Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the attorney general’s office to examine whether violations of college sports rules could render a university unfit for federal grants and contracts, effectively threatening to cut off federal funding to non‑compliant schools.
- Specifies substantive policy goals: a 'clear, consistent and fair' five‑year participation window and limits on athlete transfers to one transfer plus one more after earning a four‑year degree.
- Notes that Trump explicitly called on Congress to 'act quickly,' and includes reaction from Sen. Maria Cantwell citing ongoing bipartisan negotiations, as well as support from Texas Tech regent and billionaire Cody Campbell.
- Reiterates that Trump and allies expect the order to trigger litigation given athletes’ recent legal victories on transfer freedom and eligibility limits.
- Fox News, citing CBS, says Trump is set to sign the NIL‑related executive order this week and it could be signed as early as Friday.
- The article frames the order’s core purpose as aiming to 'increase the NCAA’s control over athletes during the new era of name, image and likeness,' rather than only conditioning federal funding.
- It adds more detail on the March 6, 2026 White House roundtable participants (including Yankees president Randy Levine and all Power Four commissioners) and quotes Trump saying, 'We have to save college sports, and, I believe, colleges.'
- The piece reiterates that Trump’s July executive order already prohibits 'pay‑to‑play' payments by third‑party sources, while clarifying it did not otherwise restrict NIL payments from those sources and requires schools to preserve resources for non‑revenue sports.
- It notes the SCORE Act failed to reach a House vote in December after three Republicans joined Democrats to block it from the floor, sharpening the political context the order is responding to.