The Executive Order's Purpose and Policy Justifications 

On April 3, 2026, apparently frustrated with the state of college athletics and Congress' inability to pass comprehensive national rules governing college football and, to a lesser degree, college basketball, in the current era of name, image, and likeness deals, President Trump signed an executive order (the "Order"), entitled "Urgent National Action to Save College Sports," to provide "comprehensive executive action . . . before college sports are lost forever."

While the Order promotes the idea of a "comprehensive national solution" rather than a solution itself, the Order premises its scope upon two main issues:

• That the "escalating financial demands to succeed in football and basketball" combined with the "significantly loosened rules governing eligibility transfers and pay-for-play schemes" in college sports could jeopardize the overall financial well-being of institutions of higher education ("IHEs") with which the federal government has important financial relationships.
• That the lack of a national solution could result in certain IHE athletics programs withdrawing financial and other resources from women's and so-called Olympic sports (i.e., non-revenue producing sports).

Implicitly acknowledging that Congressional action is the only way to satisfactorily address these issues, the Order "strongly encourages" Congress to expeditiously pass legislation satisfactorily addressing the issues but seemingly contradicts itself by stating that "further delay is not an option given what is at stake" and that the Order "will preserve college sports for future generations."

Considering the hyperbolic and self-serving nature of the Order's own language, the question becomes whether the Order is consequential or symbolic.

Executive Orders Explained

Executive orders are written directives that U.S. Presidents issue to manage the federal government's operations. 

After issuance, the federal government publishes them in the Federal Register (the federal government's official journal that informs the public about federal regulations and actions) and records them under Title 3 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (the formal collection of the rules and regulations of the executive branch and other federal agencies). 

The National Archives catalogues executive orders as official federal government documents.

Executive orders are not legislation and do not require Congressional approval, but they have the force of law with respect to the federal government's executive branch. Aside from actions taken by federal agencies in furtherance of the directives of the order, they are not binding on individuals or businesses. Akin to legislative statutes and implementing regulations promulgated by governmental agencies, the judiciary may invalidate executive orders if they lack statutory or Constitutional support. 

Once issued, executive orders remain in effect until the issuing U.S. President or a subsequent U.S. President amends, cancels, or revokes them, the judiciary invalidates them, or they expire according to their own terms. 

The Orders Applies to a Limited Scope of IHEs

The Order applies only to IHEs reporting $20 Million or more in total revenue from their intercollegiate athletics activities during the preceding year.  Based upon recent NCAA data, the 68 Power Four conference IHEs and a few additional top-tier "Group of Six" IHEs meet this threshold.

What the Order Urges Compared to What it Requires 

 Because the President of the U.S. has no real authority to directly regulate the NCAA and IHEs within the Order's context, the Order can only encourage rather than mandate certain actions.

1. The Order Encourages the NCAA to Update or Clarify its Rules

The Order states the NCAA "should" update or clarify its rules to adequately protect opportunities for scholarships and collegiate athletic competition in women's and Olympic sports and ensure the financial stability of universities.

The Order lists seven specific actions it urges the NCAA to take:

• Establish age-based eligibility limits for athletes under which athletes may only participate in college athletics for "not more than a five-year period," with limited exceptions for military service, missionary service, and other periods of absence from participation that are in the public interest and prohibit "professional athletes" from returning to college athletics.
• Establish transfer-related rules that: (1) allow athletes to transfer one time during their five-year playing period with immediate playing eligibility; (2) allow one additional transfer if the athlete obtains a four-year degree; and (3) ensure the transfer window does not incentivize interference with athletic seasons or the academic year or otherwise undermine the integrity of participation and competition in college athletics.
• Require medical care for athletes for intercollegiate-related injuries during their enrollment and "for a reasonable period of time thereafter."
• Implement revenue-sharing between universities and athletes in a manner that preserves or expands scholarships and collegiate athletic opportunities in women's and Olympic sports, including through provisions to prevent revenue-sharing from being allocated in a manner that results in reduced scholarships and opportunities in women's and Olympic sports.
• Prohibit universities from using federal funds for NIL or revenue-sharing payments or coaching or athletic compensation, in accordance with any applicable federal law and federal contract terms.
• Prohibit universities and their officers, agents, affiliates, and representatives (apparently including NIL collectives and other entities used to facilitate third-party "pay-for-play" payments)) from engaging in "improper financial activities" regarding athletes, which includes any scheme to pay athletes for NIL and other goods and services above the actual fair market value of those goods or services.
• Establish a national athlete agent registry and reasonable protections for athletes from excessive agent commissions.

Notably, the Order uses the word "should" to urge the NCAA to take these actions rather than "shall" to mandate the actions.  In legal disputes, courts typically interpret "should" as precatory, rather than creating enforceable duties, and the Order does not impose any penalties on the NCAA if it does nothing in response to the Order.  Because the Order relies on persuasion rather than enforcement to motivate the NCAA, the Order is mostly symbolic regarding the NCAA.

      2. Directions to Federal Agencies and Officers

             A. Heads of Certain Federal Agencies, the OMB Director, and the GSA Administrator

The Order directs the heads of federal agencies that contract with, or provide grants to, universities to evaluate whether NCAA rules violations involving athlete eligibility limits, transfers between IHEs, and permissible revenue sharing between IHEs and athletes and other improper financial activities in effect as of August 1, 2026 are a "cause so serious or compelling in nature" as to affect an IHE's "present responsibility" as a federal grant or contract recipient.

 The Order directs (1) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services, to issue guidance to contracting and grantmaking agencies to ensure compliance with the Order and to reinforce the suspension and debarment policy regarding serious or compelling rules violations and (2) the General Service Administration to regularly collect information from IHEs regarding their compliance with the rules.

             B. Department of Education

The Order directs the Department of Education to "consider taking appropriate action, including through rulemaking where necessary, to require IHEs to regularly report the total number of roster spots per varsity team and the total amount of money spent on athletically related student aid or payments for men's and women's teams overall.

            C. Federal Trade Commission

The Order directs the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission to enforce existing laws and regulations regarding the athlete/agent relationship, including Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act.

            D. Attorney General

The Order directs the U.S. Attorney General to file lawsuits to invalidate state laws that conflict with NCAA rules and (1) discriminate against out-of-state commerce or unduly burden or impede interstate commerce, (2) violate the U.S. Constitution's Contract Clause, or (3) are otherwise invalid under federal law.

 Although this portion of the Order arguably has the most significance and impact due to the potential penalties on IHEs that accept or depend on federal funding, its full impact will not be known until the OMB and GSA issue implementing guidance.

     3. Implementation of the Order

The Order's operative provisions will not become effective until August 1, 2026, but it directs federal agencies to "immediately begin work to ensure that appropriate regulatory or policymaking measures will be in place" by August 1, so that the Order's operative requirements can be implemented as soon after August 1 as possible.

Accordingly, federal agencies could begin taking actions that do not depend upon any new NCAA rules before August 1, but the Order does not require IHEs to take any current actions and does not seemingly consider implementation of its directives against IHEs before the NCAA issues new or updated rules, which the NCAA is not even required to do.

     4. Conclusion

The NCAA's president, Charlie Baker, issued a statement praising the Order as a "significant step forward," but his statement did not commit the NCAA to taking any of the actions the Order urges. 

Assuming the NCAA follows through on the Order's urgings and updates or clarifies its rules, those rules would almost certainly invite antitrust and other legal challenges.  In fact, some plaintiffs have already successfully challenged some of the very rules the Order wants the NCAA to update or pass, including NCAA transfer eligibility rules, its NIL and revenue sharing compensation rules, and its five-year eligibility rule.

Finally, despite the Order signaling potential consequences for the federal funding of IHEs, one can only guess what those consequences may be until federal agencies promulgate implementing guidance.

Therefore, despite the Order's hyperbolic title – Urgent National Action to Save College Sports – the Order's substance seems to concede that only Congress has the ability to achieve significant national action addressing the current state of college sports rather than the Order itself.