President Donald Trump invited more than three dozen dignitaries and sports celebrities, including former Alabama Crimson Tide coach-turned-ESPN college football analyst Nick Saban, to a college sports roundtable to find solutions to the current state of collegiate sports.
The roundtable led to Trump signing an executive order limiting NCAA student-athletes to five years of eligibility and a limit of one transfer before graduating without having to sit out for a season, along with a ban on improper payments and protections for women’s and Olympic sports.
On Monday, Saban sat down for an interview with Fox & Friends via video call to discuss the EO.
“I want to thank the President for showing leadership and a creating a roundtable, which consisted of college presidents, commissioners, athletic directors, coaches, to gather information as to what might help create some regulation that would help us long-term,” Saban said. “(To) be able to manage and fund all sports so that we can continue to create opportunities for young people.”
The College GameDay mainstay also called for the U.S. Congress to legislate the issues.
“I think ultimately, we need Congress to have some kind of anti-trust legislation that keeps us from having litigation (which) actually rules college sports,” he said. “Which is how we got where we are right now.”
Saban also petitioned for the dispoliticization of Trump’s order, amid what’s been a controversial second term in office for the President.
“People say it should be bipartisan,” Saban said. “I think it should be nonpartisan.
“I think the spirit and passion that we all have for college athletics is really important to the fabric of our country. It’s also beneficial to create many opportunities for young people who may not have an opportunity for college and improve the quality of their life.”
Since transitioning to the media side of college football, Saban has become one of the loudest and most prominent advocates for guardrails around NIL. Only time, and likely the courts, will determine if Trump’s EO has the legal standing to help establish those guardrails.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.