Inside the Game-Changers: Meet College Football’s 25 Most Powerful Figures Shaping the Future Now

Why he is on the list: Notre Dame remains one of the biggest brands in college football, and Bevacqua’s influence on the sport matches it. Notre Dame’s value on the national landscape gives Bevacqua a valuable seat at the table with major conferences and TV networks when the future of the sport is being molded.Why he is on the list: He oversees live event, studio programming, production, marketing and digital for Fox Sports, the television partner of the Big Ten Conference. His company funded the Big Ten’s expansion and is a 61% owner of the Big Ten Network, where he previously served as president.Why he is on the list: The president of NBC Sports since September 2023, Cordella oversees the Big Ten Saturday Night package that brought regular-season games not involving Notre Dame back to the network for the first time since 1959. While not to the level of ABC/ESPN or CBS, NBC is now an influential player at the crossroads of TV and college sports.Why he is on the list: Sankey blends the credibility he’s earned from a career working in college athletics with the respect he amassed from guiding college football throughout the pandemic season and the gravitas that accompanies leading a “Super Two” conference steeped with powerful brands to shape the sport in an unparalleled way.

Why he is on the list: Keenum is the president of the College Football Playoff’s board of managers, an 11-member group comprised of university presidents and chancellors that holds authority over all aspects of playoff operations. Keenum has been the president of Mississippi State since 2009 and has previously served as the president of the SEC and leader of the league’s executive committee.Why he is on the list: He oversees the live content, studio shows and journalism for a company that is paying billions of dollars to league partners for the rights to televise games, including the College Football Playoff and postseason bowl games. His company controls much of what you see and learn about the game.

1. Greg Sankey, SEC commissioner

Why he is on the list: Herbstreit, an ESPN college football fixture since 1996, is the anchor of College GameDay and is arguably the preeminent TV analyst in the sport. His national cache (which includes his ever-popular golden retrievers) has been fueled by his pointed commentary on the sport and his social media interaction with fans.

2. Burke Magnus, ESPN president, content

Who are the most powerful people in college football? The USA TODAY Sports Network decided to figure it out.

3. Tony Petitti, Big Ten commissioner

Why is on the list: Entering his 10th season, the former Alabama defensive coordinator is winning at Saban-like levels and looks like he will be a mainstay competing for national titles. Served as co-chair for the NCAA Football Rules Committee and isn’t shy about voicing his take on issues of the day across the national landscape like transfer portal windows.

4. Mark Silverman, Fox Sports president and COO

Why he is on the list: While his conference doesn’t carry the weight of the Big Ten or SEC, Yormark’s innovative approach to leading his conference and generating revenue streams has strengthened his impact. His aggressive style and business background have elevated the Big 12’s relevancy in an evolving college football environment.

5. Steve Berman/Jeffrey Kessler, antitrust attorneys

Why she is on the list: Wilken approved the massive, landmark .8 billion dollar House settlement that paved the way for the current era of college sports, allowing schools to directly reimburse their student-athletes. Just over a decade ago, Wilken presided over O’Bannon v. NCAA and ruled the ban on athletes being compensated for their NIL rights represented illegal restraint.

6. Claudia Wilken, federal judge

Why he is on the list: Sexton represents a cavalcade of prominent coaches. Clients include Kirby Smart (Georgia), Steve Sarkisian (Texas) and Kalen DeBoer (Alabama). No agent has fueled the soaring coaching salaries and buyouts and the advent of fully guaranteed contracts more than Sexton.

7. Pete Bevacqua, Notre Dame athletics director

Why he is on the list: Oversees a department that generated the most total operating revenue nationally in fiscal year 2024 at 1.9 million with 5 million in operating expenses. Helped spearhead Texas going to the SEC where it started league play in 2024. That move set off a round of conference realignment.

8. Brett Yormark, Big 12 commissioner

Why he is on the list: Phillips remains in an impactful position as the future of power-conference college football evolves. He offers another influential voice in the fight for fair and equal treatment of power conferences moving forward, particularly in the College Football Playoff.

9. Rick Cordella, NBC Sports president

Brent Schrotenboer, Paul Myerberg, Matt Hayes, Blake Toppmeyer, Marc Weiszer, Scott Wright and Frank Bodani all contributed to biographies.

10. Jimmy Sexton, agent to coaches

Why he’s on the list: He is the single highest-viewership attraction in a sport where eyeballs are the currency of the realm. His heavy reliance on the transfer portal has influenced recruiting nationally. His success pushed the door open wider for former Black athletes to become college coaches.

11. Donald Trump, United States president

Why he is on the list: Petitti leads the richest conference in college football –  the one owning the past two College Football Playoff champions. His power and influence, however, don’t quite match the SEC’s Greg Sankey in shaping and leading the sport.

12. Jim Phillips, ACC commissioner

Why he’s on the list: ZRG is the most respected search firm in college sports, and Chatlos has led searches for some of the top jobs in football, including Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan State and Ole Miss. He also played key role in searches for NCAA president, and Big Ten and Big 12 commissioners.

13. Mark Keenum, Mississippi State president

Why he’s on the list: A visionary in the multimedia world of delivering content, his On3 brand crossed over into NIL valuations that are now the industry standard. Previous companies (Rivals, 247Sports) are trendsetters in recruiting coverage, and used by many FBS and FCS coaching staffs.

14. Cody Campbell, Texas Tech booster and board of regents chair

Why he is on the list: Founded as a farm radio network, Learfield has morphed into a major player in the business of college sports, serving as a conduit for a variety of deals, from stadium naming rights to media rights to engineering more than 0 million in NIL sponsorship agreements in 2025.

15. Cole Gahagan, Learfield CEO 

Our panel of experts from our network who decided on this ranking included national college football writers Matt Hayes and Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY sports writers Paul Myerberg and Brent Schrotenboer, former USA TODAY sports columnist Dan Wolken and beat writers Frank Bodani (Penn State), Scott Wright (Oklahoma State) and Marc Weiszer (Georgia). Editors Erick Smith, Andrew Birkle and Tommy Deas helped shape the discussion.

16. Dave Brown, Gridiron founder and president

Our panel of experts debated and discussed the topic for hours and settled on the top 25 going into the 2025 season, with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey taking the top spot in a vote after the list was determined.

17. Chris Del Conte, Texas athletics director

Why they are on the list: They are the lead attorneys who helped dismantle the NCAA’s amateurism model with class-action lawsuits, including the landmark case, House v. NCAA. Because of their work, schools are now paying players for the names, images and likenesses. They remain positioned to advance players’ rights.

18. Nick Saban, ESPN analyst and retired coach

Why he is on the list: He’s changing the paradigm on both ends: he has spent, and will continue to spend, hundreds of millions on Texas Tech sports with notable gains in football and softball. He’s also President Trump’s point man in the White House’s push for college sports reform.

19. Chad Chatlos, Turnkey ZRG search firm managing director

College football isn’t just about the thrilling touchdowns or heart-stopping fourth downs; behind the scenes, it’s a complex web of power players shaping the future of the sport. Curious about who truly pulls the strings as the 2025 season kicks off? We sat down with a savvy panel of insiders from the USA TODAY Sports Network, hashing out and debating for hours on end to pinpoint the game-changers. Topping the list? None other than SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, whose leadership has become synonymous with influence in the college football universe. While you might recognize heavy hitters like Big Ten’s Tony Petitti, the magnetic Colorado coach Deion Sanders, and legendary voice Nick Saban, there are also formidable figures working in the shadows—agents, executives, and even unexpected names such as President Donald Trump—whose impact resonates deeply in the gridiron world. Dive into this exclusive rundown and get a fresh perspective on the movers and shakers steering college football into its next era. LEARN MORE

20. Ted Cruz, U.S. senator, R-Texas

Why he is on the list: Cruz, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, is the face of congressional efforts to reform college athletics. Working within his own party and across the aisle on an issue with largely bipartisan support, Cruz has wielded substantial influence in the college space.

21. Deion Sanders, Colorado coach

Why he is on the list: Brown’s company provides the go-to software for college football scheduling. Gridiron serves as a matchmaker platform where schools can view and connect with potential opponents for their scheduling needs. If you’re watching a non-conference game, there’s a good chance Gridiron helped procure the matchup.

22. Bryan Seeley, College Sports Commission CEO

Here are the top 25 most powerful people in college football as the 2025 season gets underway.

23. Shannon Terry, founder of On3 Sports, 247 Sports and Rivals

Why he’s on the list: Potential. Because there’s a whole lot of unknown with a position that has the framework to be the “czar” of college football as his organization oversees NIL deals, but could easily devolve into a front man for the most powerful presidents and chancellors of the SEC and Big Ten.     

24. Kirby Smart, Georgia coach

Names like Sankey, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, Colorado coach Deion Sanders and retired coach Nick Saban will be familiar to college football fans, but others like Jimmy Sexton, Cole Gahagan and Dave Brown hold tremendous sway behind the scenes. And some members of this exclusive club, like President Donald Trump, may surprise you.

25. Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN personality

Why he is on the list: Even after exiting the sidelines, Saban remains a visible presence on ESPN’s College GameDay and a voice that resonates across the sport. President Donald Trump met with him when he spoke at Alabama’s spring graduation and turned to him for guidance on the changing landscape in college athletics.

Why he is on the list: Trump has involved the federal government in the interest of policing college sports, the focus on big-money college football. It seems a daunting bureaucratic lift. Will his actions – creating a presidential commission on college sports and signing an executive order to reform it – prove more symbolic than policy-changing?