By Zach Sturgill

College athletics have changed drastically over the years, and a new executive order from President Donald Trump aims to change them again.

In recent years, name, image and likeness, or NIL, as well as the transfer portal, have dominated college athletics. Players typically played at only one school and were not paid. Today, several players enter the transfer portal after their school’s season ends and decide to sign with the team that will give them the best NIL deal.

This new NCAA environment can make it hard for students, like sophomore computer science major Vince Pell, to stay invested in their school’s teams.

“It’s tough to root for a team when there’s a good chance a lot of the players will be gone the next season,” Pell said.

However, there are benefits to college athletics’ new system. Players can be paid due to NIL, which some students believe is great for the athletes.

“With how big college sports are now, it’s great that players have the opportunity to be paid,” said sophomore business major Mitchell Dickson. 

At the same time, Dickson acknowledged that the current structure still has issues.

“It is wild how many times a player can transfer to different schools,” Dickson said. “There probably should be more rules on that.”

The White House announced a new executive order from Trump on April 3, aiming to change the structure of the NCAA and college athletics. The order proposes capping eligibility at five years, limiting players to just one transfer and federally regulating NIL collectives.

Some students, like junior computer science major Kevin Zhang, believe these are necessary changes to help the NCAA.

“I think the proposed changes would make NCAA sports better and more enjoyable,” Zhang said. “More players would stay on one team, which makes it easier to be invested as a fan.”

However, confidence that this new structure will be properly enacted by the NCAA is not very high.

“I’d be pretty surprised if these changes actually happen,” Pell said. “I think they would help, but from what I’ve seen on social media, the odds this will lead to change are kind of low.”

Beyond whether or not these changes to the NCAA will happen, there is also concern about the government getting involved in college athletics.

“I wish the NCAA would just change the system themselves,” Zhang said. “Getting the government involved may make things too complicated.”

With the rise of NIL and the transfer portal, the landscape of college athletics continues to evolve. For now, the future of the NCAA and college athletics remains uncertain, along with the experience of the fans following them.

Featured Image: National Collegiate Athletic Association logo on scoreboard on April 9, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather.