If you've been trying to make sense of the news surrounding a newly proposed college sports commission backed by former President Donald Trump and chaired by Nick Saban and Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell, you're not alone. The truth is, as of now, no one—including Saban himself—seems to have a full grasp on what this thing actually is.
Let’s unpack what we do know—and why this commission, even in its ambiguity, could still shape the future of college athletics.
First Things First: What Is This Commission?
Last week, multiple outlets confirmed that Donald Trump is planning to create a special commission to study college sports, with Saban and Campbell serving as co-chairs. There was no official press release. No defined scope. No announcement to federal lawmakers. Not even a timeline.
When asked about it directly on The Paul Finebaum Show, Saban said:
“I don’t know a lot about the commission, first of all. Secondly, I’m not sure we really need a commission.”
That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement from the guy supposedly running it.
To be fair, there are some broad contours reported by Yahoo Sports and others. The commission is expected to examine a wide range of issues:
NIL regulation and the role of booster collectives
Transfer portal rules
Whether athletes should be classified as employees
The impact of revenue-sharing on Title IX compliance
The future of Olympic sports
Conference realignment and media rights consolidation
In other words: basically every hot-button issue in college athletics. But beyond that, we still don’t know who else is involved, how many people will be on the commission, how long it will take, or what authority (if any) it will wield.
So Why Is It Being Created?
This is where things get a bit clearer—sort of.
Cody Campbell, the co-chair, has been vocal about his belief that only the federal government can save college sports from its current chaos. In op-eds for The Federalist, he’s argued that a patchwork of state NIL laws, endless lawsuits, and the consolidation of power by a handful of top football programs threatens the entire system.
Saban, for his part, has repeatedly called for a uniform federal NIL standard and has warned about the unsustainable nature of “pay-for-play” schemes emerging from booster-driven NIL collectives.
So it’s not hard to infer that the commission’s primary goal is to shape or accelerate federal legislation—particularly efforts to grant the NCAA limited antitrust protection, codify athletes as non-employees, and enforce national NIL and transfer rules.
In other words, this could be an attempt to push Congress (or at least pressure it) into action.
The Politics (and Problems) of Timing
But there’s a catch—or several.
First, Congress has already been working on college sports legislation for years. Lawmakers like Sens. Ted Cruz, Cory Booker, and Richard Blumenthal have been trying to find bipartisan agreement on a federal NIL law and other reforms.
Second, many of those lawmakers didn’t even know about this commission until the media reported it. That lack of coordination could make it harder for the commission to gain legitimacy or traction—especially with Senate Democrats who may be reluctant to align with a Trump-branded initiative in an election cycle.
Third, it’s not at all clear whether an executive order can do much here. Legal experts, like Sportico’s Michael McCann, have pointed out that executive orders can't override state laws, grant antitrust exemptions, or legislate employment classifications—all of which would require congressional action.
So while this commission might be more symbolic or strategic than legally binding, it still matters. It could influence which proposals Congress considers. It could set the tone for future litigation. And it could sway public opinion around the future of college sports governance.
What This Means for the Industry
If there’s one consistent theme here, it’s uncertainty.
But in today’s political climate, assuming anything will be “by the book” may be naïve. Executive overreach isn’t hypothetical anymore—it’s the norm. If the White House decides to put its thumb on the scale of college sports reform, whether through a report or executive action, the industry has to be ready.
That means schools, collectives, agents, athletes, and lawyers should be monitoring the commission’s developments—and preparing contingency plans. Because even if this group is just another Blue Ribbon Committee destined to write a forgotten PDF, it could still shape the policy conversation in the months ahead.
Final Thought: No One’s Driving the Bus—Yet
Nick Saban is leading a commission he admits he doesn’t understand. Lawmakers weren’t consulted. And nobody knows what’s supposed to happen next.
But in the chaos, there’s also opportunity. If this commission actually listens to a diverse set of stakeholders—Olympic sport athletes, academic leaders, compliance officers, and yes, football coaches—it could surface ideas that help stabilize a deeply fragmented system.
If it becomes a vehicle to rubber-stamp pre-decided policies favorable to a few power players? Then we’ll know exactly what it is.
Until then, the message is clear: everybody should keep their eyes open. Because the only thing more powerful than a commission with no plan… is one that suddenly finds one.
