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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 68 (Thursday, April 9, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 68 (Thursday, April 9, 2026)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 18267-18271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06961]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 91 , No. 68 / Thursday, April 9, 2026 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 18267]]
Executive Order 14400 of April 3, 2026
Urgent National Action To Save College Sports
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose and Policy. America's system of
college sports has long provided scholarships and life-
changing educational, athletic, and leadership
opportunities to millions of America's future leaders
and formed an important part of our national fabric. In
July, I signed an Executive Order to protect college
sports from endless lawsuits and destabilizing
financial obligations that could jeopardize women's and
Olympic sports, but it has become clear that more
comprehensive executive action is required before
college sports are lost forever.
College football is the primary revenue generator for
university athletic departments, including revenue to
support women's and Olympic sports, and is used by many
universities to attract students, donations, and
goodwill as millions of Americans gather with families
and friends to watch each Saturday. These factors place
enormous pressure on many universities to be
competitive in football. The same dynamic exists for
basketball to a lesser degree. Amid this pressure, the
rules governing pay-for-play, eligibility, and other
aspects of college athletics have been substantially
loosened through a number of judicial rulings.
Additional rules that could institute order and
consistency in these systems have been nullified by
some State legislatures that are incentivized to
advantage their own State's universities in the
competitive market for student-athletes by minimizing
barriers to recruitment. This chaotic state of affairs
has undermined competition, reduced opportunities for
student-athletes, and jeopardized support for the
current range of college athletics, particularly
women's and Olympic sports. Fair competition cannot
occur without a consistent set of rules concerning pay-
for-play or player eligibility that cannot be endlessly
relitigated in court.
The convergence of enormous pressure to win in football
and basketball and the loosening, both by litigation
and by State legislation, of consistent rules or limits
concerning eligibility, transfers, and pay-for-play
schemes has created an out-of-control financial arms
race in these sports that is driving universities into
debt, threatening to siphon resources from other
sports, and damaging student-athletes' educational and
graduation opportunities. The athletics-related
financial threats these crucial universities face are
substantial: Already, one major athletic program closed
fiscal year 2025 with $535 million in athletics-related
debt, and another has $437 million in such debt, while
others face enormous annual athletics-related deficits.
These financial perils will inevitably siphon funds
from universities' educational and research purposes,
which could impact their capabilities and
responsibilities as Federal contractors and grantees.
Absent a comprehensive national solution, therefore,
the escalating financial demands to succeed in football
and basketball combined with the significantly loosened
rules governing eligibility, transfers, and pay-for-
play schemes may force curtailment of women's and
Olympics sports, and may even jeopardize the overall
financial well-being of universities with which the
Federal Government has important financial
relationships. Universities are important defense
research contractors for the Department of War,
important medical research contractors for the
Department of Health and Human Services, and important
scientific research contractors for the National
[[Page 18268]]
Science Foundation. The health of the university system
is integral to the Federal Government's basic
functioning.
Further, without a national solution to protect the
future of competition and opportunity in all college
sports, it is possible that the largest college
football programs will be forced to seek stability
through a negotiated solution that may result in the
withdrawal of financial and other resources from
women's and Olympic sports.
The Congress is strongly encouraged to expeditiously
pass legislation that satisfactorily addresses these
issues. But further delay is not an option given what
is at stake--the 500,000 annual educational, athletic,
and leadership-development opportunities that provide
almost $4 billion in scholarships. This executive
action will preserve college sports for future
generations.
Sec. 2. Effective Date. Sections 3 through 6 of this
order shall be effective on August 1, 2026. Agencies
shall immediately begin work to ensure that appropriate
regulatory or policymaking measures will be in place by
the effective date so that the requirements of the
operative sections can be implemented as soon after the
effective date as possible.
Sec. 3. Definitions. For the purposes of this order:
(a) ``Improper financial activities'' means the
following actions taken by a federally-funded higher
education institution, including its officers, agents,
affiliates, or representatives:
(i) intentionally devising or participating in a fraudulent name, image,
and likeness (NIL) scheme;
(ii) knowingly accepting contributions, financial or otherwise, from
persons who intentionally devise or participate in a fraudulent NIL scheme;
(iii) using Federal funds for NIL or revenue-sharing payments or for any
type of payment or benefit to a coach, assistant coach, general manager,
recruiter, or other person engaged in coaching or managing an athletic
team; and
(iv) tortiously interfering with a contract between a student-athlete and
another federally-funded higher education institution, including a
scholarship agreement;
(b) ``Fraudulent NIL scheme'' means a scheme to pay
for goods or services, including NIL services, above
the actual fair market value of those goods or services
in connection with a student-athlete's participation in
intercollegiate athletics, including through the use of
collectives or similar entities. The term does not
include:
(i) revenue sharing between a higher education institution and a student-
athlete that is consistent with interstate intercollegiate athletic
governing body rules; or
(ii) fair market value compensation provided for the NIL rights of a
student-athlete by a third-party not affiliated with the athletic
department of a higher education institution for a valid business purpose
that is related to the promotion or endorsement of goods or services
provided to the general public for profit and that is not tied to
participation in the athletics program of a particular higher education
institution, at rates and terms commensurate with compensation paid to
individuals with NIL rights of comparable value who are not student-
athletes at the applicable higher education institution;
(c) ``Higher education institution'' has the
meaning given the term ``institution of higher
education'' in section 101 of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), provided that this term only
includes an institution that reports (as required under
section 485(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1092(g))) having generated not less than
$20,000,000 in total revenue (as adjusted on July 1
each year by the percentage increase, if any, during
the preceding 12-month period, in the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers published by the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics)
[[Page 18269]]
derived by the institution from the institution's
intercollegiate athletics activities during the
preceding academic year, as determined in accordance
with paragraph (1)(I) of section 485(g) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(g)); and
(d) ``Interstate intercollegiate athletic governing
body'' means the entity that sets common rules,
standards, procedures, or guidelines for the
administration and regulation of varsity sports teams
and intercollegiate athletic competitions, but that is
not an intercollegiate athletic conference, provided
that the governing body may include persons affiliated
with an intercollegiate athletic conference.
Sec. 4. Protecting Women's and Olympic Sports and
Preserving Higher Education Financial Responsibility.
(a)(i) Agency heads that contract with or provide
grants to higher education institutions, shall, as
appropriate, evaluate violations of the applicable,
lawful, and operative interstate intercollegiate
athletic governing body rules in effect as of August 1,
2026, concerning the following, to determine whether
they are a cause so serious or compelling in nature to
affect the present responsibility of the recipient:
(A) eligibility limits;
(B) transfers between institutions;
(C) revenue-sharing permitted between higher education institutions and
student-athletes; and
(D) permissible and improper financial activities.
(ii) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation
with the Administrator of General Services, shall issue guidance to
contracting and grantmaking agencies to ensure compliance with this order
and to reinforce the suspension and debarment policy regarding violations
of the rules described in subsection 4(a)(i) of this section.
(b) The interstate intercollegiate athletic
governing body for higher education institutions
should, in consultation with student-athletes and in
its discretion, update or clarify its rules before
August 1, 2026, as appropriate, to adequately protect
opportunities for scholarships and collegiate athletic
competition in women's and Olympic sports and ensure
the financial stability of higher education
institutions, including by establishing the following,
to the extent permitted by law and applicable court
orders:
(i) age-based eligibility limits to promote fairness, consistency, safety,
and opportunities for student-athletes under which:
(A) participation in college athletics is permitted for no more than a
five-year period, with limited exceptions for military service, missionary
service, and other periods of absence from participation that are in the
public interest; and
(B) professional athletes cannot return to college athletics;
(ii) transfer-related rules that:
(A) provide for the ability to transfer one time during the five-year
period with immediate playing eligibility, and one additional such time if
the student-athlete obtains a four-year degree;
(B) prioritize the academic development, success, graduation, and long-
term well-being of student-athletes; and
(C) ensure that the transfer window does not incentivize interference
with athletic seasons or the academic year, or otherwise undermine the
integrity of participation and competition in college athletics;
(iii) medical care for student-athletes for intercollegiate-athletics-
related injuries during their period of enrollment and for a reasonable
period of time thereafter;
(iv) the implementation of revenue-sharing between higher education
institutions and student-athletes in a manner that preserves or expands
scholarships and collegiate athletic opportunities in women's and Olympic
sports,
[[Page 18270]]
including through provisions to prevent revenue-sharing from being
allocated in a manner that results in a reduction in scholarships and
opportunities in women's and Olympic sports;
(v) a prohibition on the use of Federal funds by higher education
institutions for NIL or revenue-sharing payments or coaching or athletic
compensation, in accordance with any applicable Federal law and Federal
contract terms;
(vi) a prohibition on improper financial activities regarding student-
athletes, including collectives or other entities or methods used to
facilitate third-party, pay-for-play payments; and
(vii) a national student-athlete agent registry and reasonable protections
for student-athletes from excessive agent commissions.
(c) To aid contracting and grantmaking agencies'
compliance with subsection 4(a) of this section, the
Administrator of General Services shall propose,
consistent with law, an appropriate, regular collection
of information to evaluate compliance with the rules
covered by subsection (a)(i)(A)-(D) of this section for
completion by appropriate higher education institution
officials.
(d) The Secretary of Education shall consider
taking appropriate action, including through rulemaking
where necessary, to require regular reporting by higher
education institutions that includes:
(i) the total number of roster spots by varsity team, as of the day of the
first scheduled contest for the team; and
(ii) the total amount of money spent on athletically related student aid or
other payments, separately for men's and women's teams overall.
(e) The Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission
shall take appropriate action to enforce 15 U.S.C. 45
and 15 U.S.C. 7801-7807 with respect to violations by
student-athlete agents and related individuals or
entities.
Sec. 5. Legal Actions to Invalidate Certain State Laws.
(a) The Attorney General shall take appropriate
measures to further meritorious actions to invalidate
State laws that conflict with interstate
intercollegiate athletic governing body rules and:
(i) discriminate against out-of-state commerce or unduly burden or impede
interstate commerce in violation of Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the
Constitution of the United States;
(ii) impair a contractual relationship in violation of Article I, Section
10, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States; or
(iii) are otherwise invalid under Federal law.
Sec. 6. Consultation. Relevant White House components
and executive departments and agencies are encouraged
to, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law,
consider input from appropriate leaders in collegiate
athletics and administration and other experts
regarding effective implementation of this order.
Sec. 7. Severability. If any provision of this order,
or the application of any provision to any person or
circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of
this order and the application of its provisions to any
other persons or circumstances shall not be affected
thereby.
Sec. 8. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party
[[Page 18271]]
against the United States, its departments, agencies,
or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(d) The costs for publication of this order shall
be borne by the Department of Education.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
April 3, 2026.
[FR Doc. 2026-06961
Filed 4-8-26; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4000-01-P
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