NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
President Donald Trump will host a White House roundtable discussion on college athletics reform later this week.
The panel is expected to include prominent coaches, commissioners from college sports and professional sports leagues, and other professional athletes, according to OutKick.
The group will meet March 6 to examine solutions to key challenges, including the NCAA’s authority; name, image and likeness (NIL) issues; collective bargaining; and governance concerns.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
President Donald Trump holds a football handed to him during a ceremony to present the Commander in Chief’s Trophy to the U.S. Naval Academy football team, the Navy Midshipmen, in the East Room of the White House April 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Friday’s meeting will include big names like Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Adam Silver and Tiger Woods. Trump has been adamant about “saving college sports,” even signing an executive order placing new restrictions on payments to college athletes in July.
However, ESPN college analyst Paul Finebaum, who has previously hinted at a congressional run as a Republican, remains a bit skeptical.
“The easiest thing, guys, is to say this is ridiculous,” Finebaum told Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic on WJOX. “And the other day I read: ‘Why is Nick Saban going?’ Why is someone going? The conclusion is this. If something doesn’t happen very quickly, and I mean in the next short period of time, we’re talking weeks, not years, then this could blow up.
“I’m in favor of whatever happened. The question now is: With some of the most powerful people in Washington in the same room, including the most powerful person in the country, can anything be done or will it be a circus? Will it just be another show?”
United States President Donald Trump shakes hands with former Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban as Trump takes the stage to address graduating students at the University of Alabama’s Coleman Coliseum on May 1, 2025 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Trump’s order prohibits athletes from receiving payments for playing from third-party sources. However, the order did not impose any restrictions on NIL payments to college athletes by third parties.
A House vote on the SCORE (Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements) Act, which would regulate name, image and likeness agreements, was canceled shortly before its introduction in December.
The White House backed the bill, but three Republicans, Byron Donalds, Florida, Scott Perry, Pennsylvania, and Chip Roy, Texas, voted with Democrats not to bring the bill to the floor. Democrats have largely opposed the bill, urging House members to vote “no.”
President Donald Trump looks on before the college football game between the U.S. Army and Navy at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, Dec. 13, 2025. (Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
The SCORE Act would give the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption in hopes of protecting the NCAA from potential lawsuits over eligibility rules and would prohibit athletes from becoming employees of their schools. Prohibits schools from using student fees to fund NIL payments.
Related article
