Trump warns college sports could be ‘lost forever’ as committee pushes changes, Congress urged to act

President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Congress to overhaul college sports, warning the system could be “lost forever” as a White House-backed committee pushes sweeping changes to rein in athlete pay, transfers and soaring costs.

The proposals include creating a task force to examine pooled media rights, limits on coaching salaries, rewritten eligibility rules and changes to the transfer portal, according to a draft document obtained by Yahoo Sports and reported by The Associated Press.

The push builds on a recent executive order from Trump, which described college athletics as an “out-of-control financial arms race” fueled by loosening rules around player compensation, transfers and eligibility — and urged federal action before the system destabilizes further.

The White House said the current model is “driving universities into debt,” threatening women’s and Olympic sports and undermining student-athletes’ educational opportunities.

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“Further delay is not an option given what is at stake,” the order states, citing roughly 500,000 annual educational, athletic and leadership opportunities and nearly $4 billion in scholarships.

Trump has also raised alarms about the direction of college sports, saying during a White House roundtable last month that “crazy things are happening” as players stay in school longer and earn more through NIL deals, according to previous Fox News Digital reporting.

The draft proposal calls on Congress to quickly pass legislation creating a task force with an antitrust exemption and authority to override individual state laws, a major priority for NCAA and college sports leaders seeking national standards.

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Among the most divisive ideas is pooling media rights across conferences, a move opposed by the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten but backed by a group led by Texas Tech regent Cody Campbell, who has argued it could add billions in value, according to AP.

The draft also calls for rules targeting “salary-cap circumvention,” an apparent reference to schools using third-party NIL deals to get around current limits on direct payments to athletes.

That issue is already at the center of an arbitration case brought by Nebraska football players whose NIL deals were rejected by the College Sports Commission, which reviews third-party contracts.

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Trump’s executive order also directs agencies that contract with or give grants to higher education institutions to evaluate certain violations of college athletics rules, including eligibility limits, transfers, revenue sharing and “improper financial activities.”

The order defines those activities to include fraudulent NIL schemes, use of federal funds for NIL or revenue-sharing payments and interference with contracts between student-athletes and other schools.

The White House also urged college athletics governing bodies to clarify rules before Aug. 1, including limits on eligibility, transfer rules, medical care for athletes and protections for women’s and Olympic sports.

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Congress has been stalled for more than a year on legislation codifying parts of the House settlement that put revenue-sharing into place, according to AP.

The draft committee document calls for lawmakers to act before Congress leaves for its traditional August recess.

Without a national solution, the administration has warned, the financial pressure created by football and basketball could force schools to cut other sports or reshape college athletics entirely.

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The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Ryan Morik contributed to this reporting.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.