President Trump’s Secret Golf Meeting with College Athletics Heads Sparks NCAA Power Shift Speculation
Last weekend, a curious meeting unfolded on the lush greens of Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey — a round of golf featuring none other than President Donald Trump, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, and Notre Dame’s athletic director, Pete Bevacqua. While the scorecard remains a mystery, the stakes of their discussion are anything but. At a pivotal crossroads for college sports, this gathering provided an opportunity for these key players to exchange thoughts away from the glare of public scrutiny. With recent court rulings reshaping how athletes can be compensated for their name, image, and likeness, and a complex legal settlement opening the door to revenue-sharing models, the timing couldn’t be more critical. For those of us following the seismic shifts in college athletics, Sankey’s promise to keep the details under wraps only fuels the intrigue. He hinted at a vision of stability replacing the chaotic landscape that has marked NIL dealings to date — a system that’s transparent, enforceable, and ultimately fairer for all parties. Yet, despite ongoing lobbying for federal regulation amid a patchwork of state laws, the future remains uncertain, and the influence of figures like Trump in this saga adds an extra layer to the unfolding narrative. It’s a fascinating glimpse behind the curtains of power, money, and the ever-evolving game of college sports. <ahref="https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/donald-trump-to-meet-with-key-college-sports-decision-makers-in-golf-outing-where-theyll-discuss-industrys-future-134037159.html?guccounter=1&gucereferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&gucereferrersig=AQAAAIrWHXdBUjsIhcrrZ1QbYADlE3vwxwCUtue5ztZ-blJDhEjL5Hkj-Fmv5VbUCQtI2oJSwVCUS8Agfl7lxjL0uXlSfEPCVqfYSHYoemoH4Nstmma7swdXnjsLt7AKJao4NQJblU-7i31xA-AlJ-EuIpmJ2v-6YE8DaOAF6j1″>LEARN MORE
President Donald Trump played golf with two prominent college sports figures last weekend.The settlement allows schools to distribute a capped financial allotment to athletes across sports. The cap is estimated to start around .5 million per school.Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.“It was helpful for me and for Pete, as well, to hear his thoughts and his perspectives and to share some of ours,” Sankey said Monday during a call with reporters. “I think those are best left for the moment on the golf course.”
The settlement allows NCAA member schools to directly compensate athletes beginning July 1 in the form of revenue-sharing for the use of the name, image and likeness of players. Previously, athletes could earn money via NIL deals with third-party individuals and groups. This settlement allows schools to bring payments to athletes in-house.“This (settlement) brings us to a point of having the opportunity for stability and fairness in the new system,” Sankey said Monday, “replacing what has been a chaotic number of months in a fully unregulated environment – replacing that environment with transparent and enforceable rules that promote consistent opportunities for all and are part of a judicially approved settlement.”
Additionally, the settlement outlines that any Division I athlete who earns an NIL deal or deals worth 0 or more must report those deals to a regulatory system called “NIL Go.” This centralized clearinghouse, run by Deloitte, will be tasked with determining whether those deals have a “valid business purpose” and whether the money involved in those deals falls within “a reasonable range of compensation,” whatever those terms are considered to mean.While Sankey declined to get into the specifics of his golf course talks with Trump, he said he appreciates the president’s “interest in college sports.”
Sankey and other college sports leaders have lobbied for years for federal legislation to regulate the NIL marketplace and supersede the patchwork of state NIL laws. No such federal legislation has emerged.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said he’ll contain the particulars to those who played in the golf group. Sankey joined Trump and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua for the round of golf. They played at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, according to a Yahoo! Sports report.
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