President Trump pauses college sports commission plan: report

President Donald Trump has paused the formation of his proposed national college sports commission, according to Yahoo Sports.

That decision comes after the White House held talks with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, amid an effort to create national legislation to regulate college sports, especially concerning the rules around the NIL marketplace.

President Trump’s pause comes in an apparent effort to give more time to U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), who have worked together on prospective legislation, although they have not formally co-sponsored a bill on the matter.

Cruz suggested that President Trump’s national commission be sidelined as he seeks a Congressional solution, according to CBS Sports.

Cruz and Booker are the perceived leaders in the effort to reach an agreement on national legislation and have met several times over the last four months.

Leading up to the pause, President Trump’s commission had gone as far as making recommendations on potential members and had extended invitations to prospective stakeholders to join the body.

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Texas businessman Cody Campbell have been suggested as co-chairmen of the commission and have met to discuss the matter.

Despite the interest, Saban has publicly commented on two occasions that he doubts a formal commission is required, and that the issues in college sports could be settled by national legislation.

Yahoo also reports that officials in the SEC and Big Ten, college football’s two most influential conferences, have “privately held concerns” over the commission.

Should the commission go forward, it would likely produce a formal report with likely solutions that either President Trump or the U.S. Congress could act directly on.

Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump was considering an executive order focused on NIL and collegiate sports regulation.

(Yahoo)

--

Read