This executive order directs federal agencies to enforce new restrictions on college athletics compensation, eligibility, and transfers by leveraging federal grants and contracts.
The directive aims to stabilize university finances and preserve scholarships for women's and Olympic sports by standardizing rules across states and curtailing fraudulent Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) schemes.
For student-athletes and their families, this action seeks to introduce a uniform set of rules for collegiate sports careers.
It encourages athletic governing bodies to limit athletic participation to five years, prohibit former professional athletes from returning to college sports, and restrict students to one penalty-free transfer during their undergraduate careers.
However, it also pushes for extended medical care coverage for athletes suffering from sports-related injuries during and for a reasonable time after their enrollment.
The order directly impacts how universities manage their athletic budgets and compensate athletes by strictly prohibiting institutions from using federal funds to pay for NIL deals, revenue-sharing, or coaching salaries.
To enforce this, the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration will evaluate universities' compliance, threatening the suspension or debarment of federal research grants and contracts for serious violations.
The Department of Education is also tasked with requiring universities to regularly report team roster sizes and athletic aid spending to monitor equitable treatment between men's and women's sports.
Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission is directed to enforce laws against student-athlete agents and protect athletes from excessive commissions.
Additionally, the Department of Justice is instructed to legally challenge state laws that conflict with these new national athletic rules or unconstitutionally impede interstate commerce.
