College sports had been circling the drain of legal ambiguity for years, and the White House wanted a win. When President Donald Trump’s executive order landed, it was framed like a rescue mission. “President Trump saves college sports!

Any policies that come from an executive order can be challenged in court and reversed by the next administration, which means college sports continues to operate under a blanket of uncertainty when it comes to defining the relationship between schools and athletes. That’s exactly what college sports leaders are trying to stop.

The order aims to ban "pay-for-play" NIL deals, mandates scholarships for women's and Olympic sports and threatens to withhold funds from schools who don't comply. But its legality is in question.