Here are Donald Trump’s picks for the college sports roundtable, including two-time Heisman winner Nick Saban and Condoleezza Rice, among others. originally appeared on Sports news. Add The Sporting News as Favorite source by clicking here.
Donald Trump is convening a high-level roundtable at the White House to address a wide range of challenges facing college sports, including name, image and likeness compensation, the transfer portal, conference realignment and the overall future of college sports, according to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports.
Advertisement
The closed session, scheduled for next week, is expected to bring together university presidents, conference commissioners, athletic directors, coaches, business figures and athletic leaders to develop a collaborative approach to the issues that have marred the college sports landscape in recent years.
Trump will chair the roundtable, according to Dellenger. The vice presidents will be Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and New York Yankees President Randy Levine.
Among the topics likely to be discussed are the evolving role of college athletics in higher education, financial inequities among schools and the rapidly changing economy driven by NIL agreements and transfer portal activity.
Supporters of the session say the urgency felt by many across the college sports landscape needs to find common ground, not litigation. But will this produce substantial policy results?
Advertisement
Expected attendees include a diverse mix of leaders from college sports and related industries, as Dellenger reports.
List of White House College Sports Roundtables
-
Tony Petitti, Big Ten commissioner
-
Brett Yormark, Big 12 commissioner
-
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey
-
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips
-
Tim Pernetti, commissioner of the American Athletic Conference
-
Gloria Nevarez, Mountain West commissioner
-
Athletic directors Jim Currie (Wake Forest), Jamie Pollard (Iowa State), Scott Dolson (Indiana), Pete Bevacqua (Notre Dame)
-
Joe Castiglione, former Oklahoma AD
-
Jack Swarbrick, former Notre Dame AD
-
Former coaches Mack Brown, Nick Saban, Tony Dungy and Urban Meyer
-
Heisman Trophy winners Tim Tebow and Charlie Ward
-
University presidents/chancellors, including Doug Girod (Kansas), Jeff Gold (Nebraska), and Donde Plowman (Tennessee)
-
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
-
Business leaders such as David Blitzer, Marc Ganis and Gerry Cardinale
-
Professional golfers Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau
-
Condoleezza Rice, former US Secretary of State and minority owner of the Denver Broncos
-
Jonathan Kraft, president of the New England Patriots
-
Cody Campbell, President of Texas Tech NIL
-
FOX and ESPN Media Executives
NCAA President Charlie Baker was not on that list. The meeting reflects the growing attention of national figures to the economic and cultural importance of college sports. It remains to be seen whether this will lead to real progress in the coming weeks.
