US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday targeting the regulation of collegiate sports in the United States.
The move followed recent rule changes that permit student-athletes to receive financial compensation.
The order directed the NCAA to set new rules limiting athletes to a maximum of five years of participation and allowing only one school transfer before graduation without sitting out a season.
Institutions failing to comply risk losing federal funding.
Trump cited an “out-of-control financial arms race” in college sports, claiming it forces universities into debt.
”The executive order also seeks to ban improper financial arrangements and urges Congress to enact legislation addressing these issues.”
This followed a previous order issued by Trump in July, which aimed to restrict third-party recruiting payments for high-revenue sports like football and men’s basketball, preserving resources for women’s and non-revenue sports.
The changes are set to take effect on August 1, coinciding with the closing stages of the NCAA basketball tournament, including the women’s semi-finals and the men’s Final Four.
Trump highlighted the growing financial pressures from name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals in prominent sports, arguing that these deals disadvantage smaller programs such as athletics, swimming, and gymnastics—sports that often feed into U.S. Olympic teams.
Prior to the 2021 Supreme Court ruling, NCAA rules prohibited student-athletes from receiving compensation for NIL, but the decision opened the door to payments for select collegiate athletes.
