Just when the NCAA thought its battles over NIL and the transfer portal couldn’t get more complicated, a new executive order from President Donald Trump has thrown another variable into the mix, forcing a public response from the organization’s chief. Trump’s latest executive order is his most recent move in this regard, aimed at making an impact beyond the hardwood or the college football arena, prompting a reaction from NCAA President Charlie Baker.

After a day of speculation from the college sports world following the announcement, NCAA President Charlie Baker has now released a statement. Signed on April 3, Trump’s executive order, “Urgent National Action to Save College Sports,” aims to regulate NIL benefits for student-athletes. Additionally, it limits student-athletes’ transfers to just once across their collegiate career. Amid the President’s executive reinforcements, Baker has expressed his support for Trump, stating that these provisions align perfectly with what they’re trying to achieve.

“The NCAA has modernized college sports to deliver more benefits for student-athletes, and the Executive Order reinforces many of our mandatory protections – including guaranteed health care coverage, mental health services, and scholarship protections,” Baker said in a statement. “This action is a significant step forward, and we appreciate the Administration’s interest and attention to these issues.”

In a broader context, NIL money and transfer portal rules are posing as the Achilles heel of college basketball and the NCAA spectrum in many ways. The NCAA’s unlimited annual transfers provision creates instability among collegiate programs as they build their rosters at the start of each season. And the quest for more NIL money is, in large part, one of the main reasons for these frequent transfers of student-athletes.

This is where Donald Trump is focusing through his executive order. For the NIL part, Trump’s order emphasizes regulating any methods or collectives that enhance any third-party NIL payments. Meanwhile, regarding the transfer portal shortcoming, Trump’s order applies only to student-athletes pursuing a four-year degree at a University.

In such an instance, the student-athlete can enter the transfer portal twice, with immediate playing eligibility during their stipulated collegiate eligibility. In any other instance, a student-athlete may enter the transfer portal only once during their eligibility period. Furthermore, the executive order calls for age-based eligibility criteria for collegiate tenure, suggesting a change from the current system, in which athletes have 5 years to complete their 4 years of collegiate play.

The prohibition on the return of professional athletes to the spectrum is another provision the order emphasizes. NCAA President Baker has confirmed that the collegiate sports governing body is ready to work with the administration to improve these lines, including health benefits and scholarship protections.

“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 said in a statement.

According to reports, Trump’s executive order is scheduled to take effect on August 1, meaning it would have no effect on the upcoming transfer portals in college basketball. Nevertheless, this move does single out the Congress in framing legislation over these important provisions of college sports. And join the NCAA in its efforts to change college sports policies.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Praised Donald Trump’s Support for College Sports’ Policies

Donald Trump’s executive order isn’t the first move in this complex spectrum of NCAA regulation. The bipartisan SCORE Act, introduced in the House of Representatives in 2025, also reflects the same aspiration as Trump’s executive order. SEC commissioner pinpointed it perfectly, while expressing President Trump’s eagerness to work on those same lines.

“We are grateful for the President’s leadership and the continued, bipartisan engagement of members of the House and Senate on these key issues,” Sankey said in a statement. “We support House of Representatives approval of the SCORE Act and meaningful Senate consideration of similar legislation to preserve academic opportunity for student-athletes and the long-term future of college sports.”

The SCORE Act would regulate the current NIL landscape and elevate these provisions to meet national standards, ensuring they don’t exceed any established limits. Moreover, it builds a consistent framework for all collegiate sports, creates a common standard for all sports and institutions, and eventually protects the likes of Olympic sports. Additionally, it emphasizes providing greater academic assistance to student-athletes and urges programs not to treat them as employees.

But for now, the act is in a stalemate, with discussions still underway toward passage of the bill in the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, besides Greg Sankey, several other top officials from the power four conferences, including the Big 10’s Tony Petitti, have also expressed their support for Trump’s order and praised the similarity between his thinking and the SCORE Act.