WH Roundtable Hopes to Answer a Tricky Question: How Can Congress Tackle the Issues in College Sports?

President Donald Trump hosted a roundtable in the East Room of the White House on Friday, described as a "Saving College Sports Roundtable."

Among those in attendance on Friday afternoon were members of the Trump administration, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA-04), and state government leaders, along with representatives of college and pro sports, and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The president opened the event by simply laying out what the "major challenge" is for those who play in or guide the college athletic programs across the country:

.@POTUS hosts a Saving College Sports roundtable: "We're gathered today to discuss an important threat to the integrity and culture of college sports: the inability to set rules on eligibility, transfers, Name, Image, and Likeness... this has grown into a major challenge." pic.twitter.com/4PieRihWAq
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 6, 2026

He said they have been hoping for some kind of standard nationwide for regulating what many of them see as ongoing issues: the "eligibility, transfers, [and] Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL)" rights of athletes who take part in college sports.

The president continued, explaining that this would be accomplished by a "permanent fix" through Congressional action, instead of what he says is happening now—judges making the call on the field:

.@POTUS: "Federal legislation must allow college athletic programs to set simple common sense rules without endless litigation, and establish a fair Name, Image, and Likeness standard that eliminates the patchwork of conflicting state laws... If Congress does not take action… https://t.co/qUUOzKt842 pic.twitter.com/08stKXr6cu
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 6, 2026

"Federal legislation must allow college athletic programs to set simple common sense rules without endless litigation, and establish a fair Name, Image, and Likeness standard that eliminates the patchwork of conflicting state laws, while allowing the full spectrum of athletic programs to thrive.
If Congress does not take action fast, it could destroy college sports, and destroy the colleges that play these sports."

The University of Notre Dame's Athletics Director, Pete Bevacqua, warned that this is becoming a "runaway finanacial train" for educational institutions like his, and federal guardrails are needed:

.@NotreDame Athletics Director Pete Bevacqua: "I think everybody around this table knows that we need help to straighten this out... [college football] has become a runaway financial train, and if it continues to be that way, even the healthiest of universities are going to have… https://t.co/qUUOzKt842 pic.twitter.com/1C7NvMAdxb
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 6, 2026

"I think everybody around this table knows that we need help to straighten this out; we need the help of Congress. It's [college football] has become a runaway financial train, and if it continues to be that way, even the healthiest of universities are going to have to make incredibly difficult decisions—decisions that are going to impact women’s sports and olympic sports. There’s simply no way around that. So we need regulations... we need financial transparency and we need repercussions. People's feet need to be held to the fire."

Bevacqua also thanked Pres. Trump for the kind condolences the president made about a longtime friend, Notre Dame's legendary coach, Lou Holtz, who passed away this week.

Former Alabama football coaching icon, Nick Saban spoke about his issues with the current system:

Nick Saban: "We need to come up with a system... to allow student athletes in all sports, including women's and olympic sports, to enhance their quality of life, while going to college — but still provide opportunity to advance themselves beyond their athletic career." https://t.co/qUUOzKt842 pic.twitter.com/sxnKZXggWz
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 6, 2026

My goal as a coach for my players, for our players, was to help them be more successful in life, that we would create an atmosphere and an environment that would help them through personal development...668 degrees and 17 years at Alabama, and help them with a career as a football player...We were preparing them for their future past athletics.

But Saban said that the way the current system is, that became "impossible to do." The NCAA's president, Charlie Baker, pointed out that all of the U.S. and Canadian Olympic hockey teams' players, men's and women's, were all former college athletes:

.@NCAA Pres. Charlie Baker: "I’m deeply grateful for your commitment to this issue, I’m thrilled by the folks you've manage to put around this table...[college sports] is a truly unique American jewel, and we should do all we possibly can to ensure its success..." https://t.co/qUUOzKt842 pic.twitter.com/Ao024aQApA
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 6, 2026

U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland called for this new "partnership" to get some much-needed "stability" from Congress:

.@USOPC_CEO Sarah Hirshland: "We stand here today, Team USA, in solidarity and partnership with the collegiate sports community to encourage Congress to pass legislation that stabilizes the foundation of sport on campus and ensures a healthy and robust ecosystem for student… https://t.co/qUUOzKt842 pic.twitter.com/vZUAMoe8OK
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 6, 2026

Republican FL Governor Ron DeSantis said that "with the collectives and how much it's costing," the juggernaut of college football especially is "threatening" the viability of other Division I sports:

.@GovRonDeSantis: "I’m thankful that this is going to get done under President Trump’s leadership. This is a bipartisan issue... There is no partisanship about this. We all want our universities and the athletics to succeed." https://t.co/qUUOzKt842 pic.twitter.com/55yLR6W1xA
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 6, 2026

Based on the way one of the panelists was talking, it appears this roundtable is just a springboard for a series of discussions on how college sports will work over time, as New York Yankees president, Randy Levine said:

"These issues have been in professional sports for a long time...This group, as we move on, you can be assured will be talking to the student athletes and all of their representatives to make sure their voices are clearly heard. Time is of the essence."

This was for sure a weighty topic, but there was a fun moment to lighten things up, when the president joked that Secretary of State Marco Rubio taking part in the roundtable might be illegal:

🚨 LMFAO: President Trump just started teasing Marco Rubio at the sports roundtable and the room lost it. Trump joked Rubio had a “serious conflict of interest” because his son plays college sports and earns NIL money. Then he laughed it off, patted Rubio on the shoulder and said… pic.twitter.com/ufVfpSyZZW
— ⁿᵉʷˢ Barron Trump 🇺🇸 (@BarronTNews_) March 6, 2026

You can watch the full roundtable event below: