President Donald Trump will host a White House meeting next week with prominent figures from across the college sports landscape, a gathering designed to address the future of an industry in flux, a source confirms to CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello. At least 35 people have been invited to what is being called the “College Sports Roundtable,” which is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on March 6. It is unclear how many of those invited will ultimately attend.
Trump will chair the discussion, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Randy Levine, president of the New York Yankees, are listed as vice chairs on an invitation list. The invite includes the four power conference commissioners: Jim Phillips (ACC), Brett Yormark (Big 12), Tony Petitti (Big Ten) and Greg Sankey (SEC). Gloria Nevarez, commissioner of the Mountain West, is also invited, as are university leaders and administrators from across the FBS, including Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua.
Others on the invite list include former coaches Nick Saban, Mack Brown and Urban Meyer, former college athletes like Heisman Trophy winners Tim Tebow and Charlie Ward, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, golf star Tiger Woods and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who previously served on the College Football Playoff selection committee. Media executives from ESPN and Fox Sports are also invited.
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Brandon Marcello
Billionaire businessman Cody Campbell, chairman of Texas Tech’s board of regents and a former college football player who has spearheaded a “Saving College Sports” campaign, is also included. Campbell has advocated for federal intervention in college athletics, including potential changes to antitrust protections and a reexamination of how conferences structure and sell media rights.
The meeting comes at a pivotal time for college sports. In recent years, court rulings have reshaped the NCAA’s authority and accelerated the professionalization of the industry, particularly in the name, image and likeness marketplace. Schools are preparing for a revenue-sharing era while navigating a patchwork of state laws and ongoing legal challenges.
Congress has held multiple hearings on NIL, athlete employment status and antitrust protection for the NCAA and conferences, but lawmakers have yet to advance comprehensive legislation. Trump signed an executive order last summer titled “Saving College Sports,” directing federal agencies to examine issues surrounding athlete classification and third-party NIL enforcement, though it produced no binding changes.
Against that backdrop, the White House session is expected to touch on governance, athlete compensation, collective bargaining concepts and the federal government’s potential role in stabilizing a system many leaders believe is at an inflection point. Whether a single afternoon meeting can produce consensus among stakeholders with competing visions remains unclear, but the guest list underscores the national scope — and political weight — of the debate.
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