
Nick Saban spent 28 seasons as a college football head coach. This includes 297 career victories along with seven national titles, which came with the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
So, Saban sure knows a thing or two about college sports.
However, Saban has again and again questioned the direction of the college sports landscape, and he now sounded the alarm on the way things are going during an episode of "The Pat McAfee Show" on Thursday.
"We obviously need some guardrails in college athletics," Saban said. "It's become pretty much of a business."
Saban spoke specifically about NFL players being eligible to go back to college, which has ignited a huge debate in the sports world.
"Crazy. It's absolutely crazy," Saban added. "We have all kind of issues that need to be addressed. I think antitrust legislation and making it law, from a federal standpoint, is the only way that you can do that."
"We obviously need some guard rails in college athletics. ... We have all kind of issues that need to be addressed."
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 3, 2026
Nick Saban joined the @patmcafeeshow to speak on the state of college sports pic.twitter.com/PogHw7F1du
In the same breath, Saban also said why Lane Kiffin and LSU should be careful.
"If I was LSU, I'd be very careful about how I proceed here," Saban added. "If people keep appealing it, it may get changed down the road, and they may have consequences relative to that."
On Thursday, the drama continued as the SEC has filed a federal lawsuit in Alabama against Kiffin and LSU regarding pro players coming back to college.
So, this is a developing storyline, and Week 1 of the college football season begins on Saturday for LSU against Dabo Swinney's Clemson team.
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