The fight for the future of college athletics rages on.
President Donald Trump is expected to hold a presidential roundtable next Friday to discuss the future of college sports, according to a report from Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. The group is being called the Saving College Sports Roundtable.
The list of invitees is littered with well-known names, including former Clemson President Jim Clements, who retired at the end of last year.
Clements became Clemson University’s 15th president on Dec. 31, 2013, after serving as president of West Virginia University. Since his arrival, the value of the Tiger Paw has never been higher, driven by the University’s elevated academic reputation and the exposure from Clemson University’s athletic success on the national stage.
Clements is a nationally recognized leader in higher education who has served as president of a university in three different athletic conferences, Big East Conference, Big 12 Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference, where he served as the 2016-17 Chair of the ACC Council of Presidents. He currently serves on the board of directors for the ACC and as one of eleven members on the College Football Playoff Board of Managers.
Others to receive invites include American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti; current athletic directors from Wake Forest, Iowa State and Indiana; former Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione; Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua and ex-Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick; former coaches Mack Brown, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer; Texas Tech board member Cody Campbell; Heisman winners Tim Tebow and Charlie Ward; university presidents/chancellors Doug Girod (Kansas), Jeff Gold (Nebraska) and Donde Plowman (Tennessee).
Some invitees from outside of the college realm include NBA Commissioner Adam Silver; millionaire businessmen like David Blitzer, Marc Ganis and Gerry Cardinale; pro golfers like Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau; and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Media executives from Fox and ESPN are also expected to have received an invitation.
President Trump will serve as the chair, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to serve as a vice chair, as is Randy LeVine, the President of the New York Yankees.
The topic of discussion is expected to center on the lawless era that college athletics currently finds itself in, and how some of that can be cleaned up. Clemson recently found itself at the center of some of that controversy when head football coach Dabo Swinney publicly accused Ole Miss and head coach Pete Golding of tampering with portal signee Luke Ferrelli.
President Trump has discussed on multiple occasions his desire to help college athletics find more stability, as well as some protection from the numerous lawsuits the NCAA has experienced in recent years. Whether that be through congressional action or executive order, the President has put it all on the table.