President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that a definitive stance on reform of college sports that addresses how student athletes are paid, transfer windows and eligibility rules could ultimately impact future Olympic teams for the United States.
In a ceremony honoring more than 100 athletes NCAA champions from 2025, Trump affirmed his stance on the changes he felt were necessary to establish stability college sports — and its impact on how future Olympic teams are built.
“Without college sports, without your ability to go into college sports and compete and learn really how to play and get better, we’re not going to have much of an Olympic team anymore,” Trump said during the event.
Earlier in the month, Trump signed an second executive order limiting NCAA athletes to five years with one transfer before they graduate without having to sit out a season. The proposed changes are set to take effect on August 1.
The order also looks to build a structure of preventing schools from eliminating scholarships, find better medical care for athletes, build revenue sharing models that create opportunities in women’s and Olympic sports and ending “pay-for-play agreements” from school that have extremely high resources.
The NCAA is reportedly exploring eligibility limits that start at 19 or when an athlete graduates high school, which aligns with Trump’s order.
Trump looks to put more clarity into executing his vision for regulation in college sports, but will likely face opposition in court. Since late March, over 50 of his second-term executive orders have either been temporarily blocked or overturned or by federal courts. But it’s also why Trump has called on Congress to pass legislation to tighten NCAA guidelines and establish a clear standard that covers all student athletes.
“Seventy-five percent of Olympians competing for Team USA played as college athletes,” Trump said. “If we don’t straighten out this, we’re not going to have much of an Olympic team because you have so many of these sports, especially certain sports where it’s like the minor leagues, call it the major leagues, whatever you want.”
According to the NCAA, the majority of Olympians who have competed for Team USA have previous experience in NCAA, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics or junior college programs at nearly 75 percent.
“But we’ve trained unbelievable athletes to go in and win the gold medal,” Trump said. “Without college sports and without your ability to go into college sports and compete and learn how to play and get better, we’re not going to have much of an Olympic team anymore.”
At the event, national championship teams from Texas A&M in women’s volleyball, Oklahoma State in men’s golf, Wake Forest in men’s tennis, Youngstown State in women’s bowling, Georgia in women’s tennis, Florida State in women’s soccer and West Virginia in mixed rifle were honored.
