The executive order signed by President Donald Trump last week calls on the NCAA to update rules to restore and protect the financial stability and future of college sports. Specifically, it mentions how it will improve women’s and Olympics sports in the NIL era.
Former longtime Alabama coach Nick Saban revealed his support of these sports, which are considered non-revenue compared to the likes of college football and basketball. In an era where revenue sharing dollars rule, Saban believes these less mainstream sports need major protections moving forward.
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“We have to look at how we support all sports. 75% of you know the athletes in the Olympics developed in college,” Saban said during an appearance on Fox News. “So if you take away track and field, swimming and diving, gymnastics and all those kinds of sports and women’s sports, that’s the developmental model for our country in terms of Olympics.
“You have a unique circumstance here where you have revenue sports and non-revenue sports. So, how do you manage those two things to benefit the players in every way possible? Which I think this executive order actually does in a lot of ways.”
The executive order outlines protections to these programs by stating it will implement revenue-sharing in a manner that protects and expands opportunities in women’s and Olympic sports.
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A fact sheet relating to the order states that these sports are under “serious threat” due to lawsuits which have “created a financial arms race that threatens to put many university athletic programs out of business.” Saban believes there’s only one way to ultimately save these non-revenue programs moving forward.
“But to be able to implement it,” Saban said, “we’re ultimately going to need Congress to have some kind of anti-trust legislation so we don’t continue to have lawsuits that allow players to play six and seven years and transfer at will.”
The EO outlines a five-year participation window for athletes and structured transfer rules for academic and athletic continuity. How this pertains women’s and Olympic sports remains to be seen, but it’s clear Saban wants swift and effective action taken in Washington in order to provide these sports their protections.
