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As a former college football coach for 40 years, I’ve witnessed firsthand the transformative power of college sports in shaping young lives. From the locker room to the classroom, athletics instill discipline, teamwork and resilience — values that extend far beyond the field. But ever since the Supreme Court ruled that college athletes can be compensated for the use of their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), college sports have been in a tailspin.
While I’m all for players making money, we need to create national standards to protect the integrity of college sports. Because there are no national rules for NIL contracts, every state has passed its own laws. This patchwork of laws has created an uneven playing field and given some universities advantages over their competitors.
We now have pay-to-play as bidding wars for recruits are starting in middle and high school. This is not to mention the transfer portal, which has become a revolving door with student-athletes jumping from school to school in pursuit of more money.
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For example, the men’s basketball teams at Kentucky, Duke and the University of North Carolina are preparing for their entire rosters to change in the upcoming 2025-26 season. This is not only bad for team culture, it’s also having negative impacts on the student-athletes’ educations, which is what college athletics is supposed to be all about.
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) left the team to pursue a better NIL deal. FILE: Iamaleava throws the ball during the first quarter at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (IMAGN)
I’ve been working to try to address these issues since I got to the Senate in 2021. Last Congress, West Virginia Independent Senator Joe Manchin and I introduced the "Protecting Athletes, Schools, and Sports Act" (PASS Act). This bipartisan legislation would establish a national standard for NIL contracts, ensuring consistency and fairness across all institutions.
The PASS Act would also require universities to honor the original scholarship made to student-athletes, regardless of their NIL deal status, and provide stability by moderating eligibility for the transfer portal.
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Importantly, this was not just our bill — we worked with student athletes, coaches, athletics directors and parents to draft it. Unfortunately, Democrats, who had the majority at the time, refused to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.
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Thankfully, President Donald Trump — a notorious sports fan — is looking to get involved. A few weeks ago, I had the chance to talk to him about our fight to preserve college sports while on Air Force One headed to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He was particularly focused on protecting women’s and Olympic sports, which are sadly in danger of being eliminated at some schools who don’t have enough money to play players.
He was also focused on preserving education, ensuring antitrust protections are in place, and protecting women’s and Olympic sports, which are sadly being eliminated at some schools that don’t have enough money to pay players. In typical Trump fashion, he sprang into action.
Following our conversation, the White House began exploring ways, ranging from an executive order to a federal commission, to address the most pressing issues within college athletics. By hearing from key stakeholders, including my friends former Coach Nick Saban from Alabama and former NFL player and Chairman of the Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System Cody Campbell, the Trump administration is working to gather possible solutions that address the complexities of NIL and its impact on college sports.
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Regardless of which path Trump chooses to address the current state of college sports, I’m confident that his administration — which has already proven to be both effective and unafraid to shake up the status quo — can make meaningful reforms to make sure college sports remain intact.
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Meanwhile, I’ll continue to work with my colleagues to hopefully draft legislation that could pass both chambers. The challenges facing college sports today are formidable, but not insurmountable. With President Trump’s leadership and a unified approach, we can navigate this new era while preserving the integrity and spirit of collegiate athletics.
