Good grief:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6341165/2025/05/07/donald-trump-commission-on-college-athletics/
Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Texas Tech board of regents chairman Cody Campbell would co-chair the commission President Donald Trump is interested in forming to examine the long list of issues facing college sports, a source briefed on the plans told The Athletic.
The source said Trump is expected to be “very engaged” with the commission because he sees the current state of college sports as an issue of national importance.
The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported Trump was interested in weighing in with an executive order after the president spoke last week with Saban, who has expressed concern that college sports is being harmed by the big money pouring into it to compensate athletes with little regulation. Yahoo Sports first reported Wednesday that Trump is planning to create a presidential commission to examine a long list of issues facing college sports, from booster-funded payments and transfer rules to conference alignment and Title IX.
Campbell, who was elected chairman of the Texas Tech board of regents last month, is a former Red Raiders football player and one of the university’s most prominent donors. He is the co-founder and co-executive of Double Eagle Energy Holdings, an upstream oil and gas company based out of Fort Worth, Texas, which operates extensively in the Permian Basin region of West Texas. Campbell is also the co-founder of the Matador Club, an NIL collective that supports Texas Tech athletics, and he recently spearheaded the new $242 million south endzone project at Tech’s Jones AT&T Stadium, which overlooks Cody Campbell Field.
In February, Double Eagle sold a development for $4.1 billion, and in 2021, the company sold a previous development for $6.4 billion. Last month, Double Eagle announced a continued and expanded partnership with EnCap Investments, a prominent private equity company that specializes in the oil and gas industry. Campbell is a board member of Texas Public Policy Foundation and a distinguished fellow at the America First Policy Institute, the latter which has been integral to President Trump’s second-term policy agenda.
A presidential commission would typically dig into various aspects of an issue or enterprise and deliver a report suggesting possible solutions that could involve executive and legislative action. Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order creating the Religious Liberty Commission.