The college sports landscape continues to change after Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this week to return the state of the collegiate athletics back to an education-based model instead of one ran more similarly to a professional league. And while some are critical of the executive order, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban couldn’t be more thrilled about it.
Saban has been critical of the direction of college football for quite some time now, questioning whether NIL payments to college athletes has gotten out of hand. Saban has even said in the past that the state of the sport with NIL payments did contribute to his retirement from coaching in 2024.
On Friday, Saban made his thoughts on Trump’s executive order crystal clear during an appearance on Fox News, explains how he believes that “most people” would prefer for college sports to remain focused mainly on an education-based model and not as a pay-to-play model as some believe the sport has become with NIL deals.
“I think President Trump’s Executive Order takes a huge step in providing the educational model that has always been what we’ve tried to promote to create opportunities for players,” Saban said. “I think we sort of need to make a decision here. Do we want an education-based model (which I think the President took a big step towards doing that) or do we want to have universities sponsor professional teams? I think most people would choose the former.”
Nick Saban praises @POTUS‘ Executive Order protecting student-athletes & collegiate athletic scholarships:
“I think @POTUS‘ Executive Order takes a huge step in providing the educational model that has always been what we’ve tried to promote to create opportunities for players.” pic.twitter.com/kehXs6kGg5
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 25, 2025
It’s not much of a surprise to see Saban endorse Trump’s executive order considering he, along with fellow former coach Tommy Tuberville, called upon Trump to make the executive order in the first place.
Still, it is significant to see one of the biggest names in the sport speaking so favorable on an executive order that could very well go a long way in shaping the future direction of college sports.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.