Political Quotes

“there was welcomed news last week that President Trump is considering a Presidential commission on college athletics. I welcome the President's leadership because college sports are important, but college sports are also broken. What used to be about school pride and student opportunity has turned into a chaotic, booster-fueled arms race. Regional conferences have been blown apart for television deals, Olympic sports are getting cut, and the balance between education and athletics is long gone. This isn't the first time a President has had to step in. In 1905, it was Theodore Roosevelt who summoned the top schools to the White House to save college football from itself. He didn't kill the game; he saved it by demanding rules, safety, and common sense. We need that same leadership today, and that is why I am so pleased by President Trump's potential actions. Let me be clear: College sports are a highly publicly subsidized enterprise. It runs on Federal exemptions, tuition subsidies, land grants, student fees, and State dollars. Yet, as public dollars prop up the system, the money is ballooning and concentrating. According to a 2023 report from the Knight Commission, annual revenues across all FBS athletic programs are expected to reach nearly $21 billion by 2032. Here is the kicker: More than $16 billion of that is concentrated in just 54 schools. While college sports are important to the entire country, roster spots across all sports are shrinking.”