Trump issues college sports executive order targeting NCAA transfer rules, eligibility

No other American president since 1961 has issued more executive orders than Donald Trump. And now he’s issued another one, this time to regulate college sports, even though he doesn't have the legal authority to do that.

The latest one, signed by Trump on April 3, is called "Urgent National Action to Save College Sports." It aims to limit athletes’ participation in college sports to five years with some exceptions and calls on the NCAA to establish transfer rules that allow a player to transfer once in five years without penalty, plus an additional time if the athlete graduates. It also aims to protect funding for women’s sports and calls for a crackdown on booster collectives that pay players more than fair-market value for their name, image and likeness (NIL).

It’s Trump's second executive order about college sports since July 2025, when he issued one called “Saving College Sports.” That one had little if any apparent effect. The newest one might not either, simply because it’s an executive order without the backing of a law passed by Congress.

Meanwhile, legislation to regulate college sports has stalled in Congress amid partisan disagreements.

“An executive order’s authority must derive from an already existing statute or a constitutionally enumerated presidential power,” the American Constitution Society states on its website.

If not, it’s generally not enforceable. Trump previously said he expected lawsuits to be filed against it trying to stop it. But this executive order could have an impact in other ways, such as pressuring Congress to act on legislation. The Trump Administration also previously has used the threat of federal funding cuts to try to get universities to do what he wants. Trump is raising that threat with this order, too.

What does Trump college sports executive order seek to do?

The executive order will be effective Aug. 1 and will not affect the upcoming basketball transfer period, which opens April 7, the day after the national championship game.

It calls on the NCAA to establish certain rules “to the extent permitted by law and applicable court orders.” According to the order, Trump wants:

∎ Age-based eligibility limits and a five-year eligibility period for athletes “with limited exceptions for military service, missionary service, and other periods of absence from participation that are in the public interest." Currently, college athletes get five years to play four seasons with some exceptions. But recent lawsuits have challenged NCAA eligibility rules.

∎ A rule that ensures “professional athletes cannot return to college athletics.” That’s generally the case now, but the limits on that have been tested, too.

∎ Transfer rules that “provide for the ability to transfer one time during the five-year period with immediate playing eligibility, and one additional such time if the student-athlete obtains a four-year degree.” The NCAA was sued to allow unlimited annual transfers starting in 2024.

∎ A prohibition on “improper financial activities” involving college athletes, “including collectives or other entities or methods used to facilitate third-party, pay-for-play payments.”

∎ The implementation of revenue-sharing between colleges and athletes "in a manner that preserves or expands scholarships and opportunities in women’s and Olympic sports."

What NCAA said about President Trump's executive order on college sports

NCAA president Charlie Baker released the following statement Friday afternoon in response to President Trump's executive order:

"This action is a significant step forward, and we appreciate the Administration’s interest and attention to these issues. Stabilizing college athletics for student-athletes still requires a permanent, bipartisan federal legislative solution, so we look forward to continuing to work alongside the Administration and Congress to enact targeted legislation with the support of student-athlete leaders from all three divisions."

Baker spoke to reporters Friday at the Women's Final Four in Phoenix and had this to say:

“I haven't read it, obviously, but I certainly appreciate (Trump’s) interest in the issue,” Baker said. “He made clear that we need congressional action to sort of seal the deal on a number of these things, which is good, because we do. And I think getting a bipartisan agreement on a number of those issues would be a really big thing.”

“Based on my own conversations with a lot of Democrats and Republicans in Washington over the course of the past month or two, I do think there's a lot of common ground there,” Baker added. “Cleaning up some of that stuff (eligibility battles in court), which would be really hard for us to do on our own, is the sort of thing that I think there's a lot of people in D.C. who think it would be a good idea.”

Why did President Trump issue this order on college sports?

The newest order comes after Trump held a big meeting about college sports March 6, during which he made a string of false statements and misplaced the blame for the industry’s problems. Those problems and challenges include budget shortfalls that stem from the House vs. NCAA legal settlement, along with unlimited annual player transfers and a bevy of lawsuits that have tried to override the NCAA’s eligibility rules.

Some college leaders have grown exasperated amid an overall sense that NCAA rules aren’t being enforced anymore as players transfer every year in search of more money from their names, images and likenesses (NIL). Starting last July, the same college leaders suddenly had to find up to $20.5 million annually to pay players according to the terms of the House settlement – a huge new expense that’s led to big budget deficits.

What will happen next after Trump's order?

Trump anticipated this executive order would be challenged by lawsuits that would deem it enforceable. Sports attorney Darren Heitner on Friday said he would seek "emergency relief" for any athletes who were restricted from transferring because of the executive order. He called it an "illegal restraint."

Heiter also noted March 10 that the NCAA is a private organization and that executive order only direct federal agencies, not private groups.

"No statute gives the President power to rewrite them or deprive athletes of their rights," Heitner wrote on social media March 10. "An EO would be aspirational only and a waste of time."

What is Trump's goal with this executive order?

Trump generally wants college sports to go back to how it was before, when players were not allowed to be paid for their NIL and also weren’t allowed to transfer to another school without having to sit out a year first.

“I'd like to just go exactly back to what we had and ram it through a court if we have to,” Trump said March 6.

Going back to how it was is practically impossible, however. State laws permit players to earn money for their NIL. The House settlement is binding in federal court and stems from an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA. Likewise, unlimited annual player transfers stem from a binding settlement in federal court that resolved a separate antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA.

“The biggest challenges to modern college sports all come from private litigation, usually through the Sherman Antitrust Act,” said Sam Ehrlich, an assistant professor at Boise State who tracks college sports litigation. “The executive branch has zero power to change how judges interpret the statutes at issue.  There would indeed have to be an act of Congress.”

How many executive orders has Trump issued?

Trump has issued 474, including 220 from his first term, according to The American Presidency Project. By comparison, President Barack Obama issued 276 during his two terms. President George W. Bush issued 291.

Trump has issued the most of any president since Dwight Eisenhower, who issued 484 before he left office in 1961.

USA TODAY Sports reporter Mitchell Northam contributed to this story.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: [email protected]