Urgent National Action to Save College Sports

The order directs federal agencies to develop and implement a comprehensive national response to stabilize college athletics by addressing pay-for-play, eligibility, transfer rules, and the financial arms race in football and basketball that is driving universities into large athletics-related debt, citing specific program debts of $535 million and $437 million for two major programs. It instructs agencies with relevant authority to coordinate rulemaking, enforcement, and use of federal contracting and grant conditions to protect opportunities for women’s and Olympic sports and to prevent diversion of university resources from educational and research missions.