President Donald Trump signed a common-sense executive order Friday that regulates college sports in an effort to make them great again.
Measuring 10 pages, the order directs the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) “to create rules that mandate college athletes can play for ‘no more than a five-year period,'” according to ESPN.
The new rules will also allow college athletes “to transfer schools only once before they graduate without having to sit out a season.”
The changes will go into effect on Aug. 1.
President Donald Trump’s executive order regulating college sports:
– College athletes can only play a maximum of 5 seasons in a 5-year window
– Maximum of one transfer before graduation, otherwise, need to sit a full season
– Schools that violate risk losing federal funding pic.twitter.com/56jfWqGntw
— Underdog (@Underdog) April 3, 2026
The order also directs the NCAA to “update its rules to create a national registry for player agents and create policies that prevent schools from cutting scholarships or other opportunities for women’s and Olympic sports in order to pay their athletes.”
“College sports cannot function without clear, agreed-upon rules concerning pay-for-play and player eligibility that can’t be endlessly challenged in court, as is the case now,” the White House said in a statement.
NCAA President Charlie Baker has indicated that he supports the order, though it’s clear he wants Congress to permanently codify it.
“There’s a bunch of things in there that are pretty consistent with the things we’ve been talking to them and to Congress about,” he said Friday.
“We need congressional action to sort of seal the deal on a number of these things, which is good because we do, and getting a bipartisan agreement on a number of those issues would be a really big thing,” he added.
Big 10 Commissioner Tony Petitti appears to feel similarly.
“The Big Ten Conference would like to thank President Trump for his leadership and continuing efforts to protect college athletics and joins him in urging Congress to quickly pass legislation addressing the critical issues undermining its long-term stability,” he wrote on Facebook.
“Consistent with President Trump’s executive order, the bipartisan SCORE Act thoughtfully addresses name, image, and likeness for student-athletes, protecting academic and athletic opportunities provided through women’s and Olympic sports programs, and expands resources to support student-athletes on and off the field,” he added.
A statement from Commissioner Tony Petitti on the Presidential Executive Order.
Posted by Big Ten Conference on Friday, April 3, 2026
According to insider sources who spoke with The New York Times, Trump’s primary goal in issuing the executive order was in fact “to spur legislative action.”
It makes sense given that the order itself is not likely to survive a court challenge.
“Multiple lawyers who work with colleges and their athletes [said] they believe that judges would rule the president’s order to be unconstitutional and unenforceable if challenged in court,” ESPN notes.
The Times likewise notes that the order as it stands contradicts some state laws and “also conflicts with previous court rulings and NCAA decisions, such as the ones allowing multiple immediate transfers.”‘
The problem is that just as there’s bipartisan support for the SCORE Act, there’s also bipartisan opposition from the likes of, for example, Democrat Sen. Maria Cantwell and Republican Rep. Michael Baumgartner:
Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Michael Baumgartner sent the following letter asking to delay the markup of the SCORE Act.
Full letter below. pic.twitter.com/ltKYgmkZiJ
— Amanda Christovich (@achristovichh) July 15, 2025
Congress was originally scheduled to vote on the SCORE Act in December, but the vote was cancelled after three Republicans — Byron Donalds, Scott Perry, and Chip Roy — voted with the Democrats to block the bill from being brought to the floor.
The president first indicated an executive order was en route during a sports roundtable on March 6, when he vowed to write up an executive order within the week “because that’s the only way this is going to be solved.”
“Let’s see if we can get it through the court system, which we might not be able to do,” the president added at the time, signaling his awareness that the order would be challenged in court.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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