The White House is pausing its plans to develop a commission to govern college sports.
Congressional sources told Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger that plans are being put on ice for the time being, noting it’s a move that could be rooted in the commission’s potential impact in Senate negotiations over college sports legislation.
Currently, a group of five U.S. senators is negotiating federal legislation for college sports.
It is unclear how long the pause will extend, except to potentially give five U.S. senators, led by Ted Cruz and Cory Booker, more time to possibly reach an agreement on federal legislation. The senators have met multiple times over the the last four months but hurdles remain.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 22, 2025
The commission, led by President Donald Trump and Texas NIL collective founder Cody Campbell, had already been gathering candidate recommendations and even started offering member invitations to stakeholders.
Former University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, who has had conversations with Trump about reforming NIL policies, has publicly stated he’s against the formation of a commission, though Dellenger notes he was approached by Campbell about having an advisory role on the commission.
NCAA President Charlie Baker has previously said he was “up for anything” when asked about the idea of a commission led by Trump.
“I think the fact that there’s an interest on the executive side on this, I think it speaks to the fact that everybody is paying a lot of attention right now to what’s going on in college sports,” Baker said, according to ESPN. “I’m up for anything that can help us get somewhere.”
