Nick Saban doesn’t believe there needs to be a commission to resolve the issues of college athletics.
He said as much during an appearance on the SEC Network’s “Paul Finebaum Show” on Wednesday, as he discussed the reported commission of college athletics, which President Donald Trump reportedly wants him to co-chair.
“First of all, I don’t know a lot about the commission. Secondly, I’m not sure we really need a commission,” Saban said on SEC Network’s “The Paul Finebaum Show” on Wednesday. “… I think the key to the drill is getting people together so that we can move it forward.”
“I’m not opposed to players making money. I don’t want anybody to think that. I just think the way it’s going right now, it’s not sustainable and probably not in the best interest of the student athletes across the board or the game itself. So I think we need to protect the brand and the competitive advantages and disadvantages that are being created right now. And I think we can fix all that.”
Nick Saban on his recent talks with the White House about a potential commission on college sports.
“I don’t think I should be the tip of the spear…I would just like to help anyone who seeks to fix it.” pic.twitter.com/DNoUS1LMI1
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) May 14, 2025
REQUIRED READING: Opinion: Trump and proposed commission on college sports can’t change reality
Saban, one of college football’s most decorated coaches, has been linked to the reported commission that Trump wants to create since the two spoke at Alabama’s undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 1. Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported Trump’s intent to create the commission on May 7.
The reported commission would “examine a number of topics across college sports,” ranging from “frequency of player movement in the transfer portal” to “the debate of college athlete employment” to “the application of Title IX to school revenue-share payments” and more.
When asked by Finebaum on how he would implement changes to college football (and college athletics) with this commission, Saban first deflected the question by saying he didn’t “want to get into the implementation” of what he would do before doing just that.
“I think the first thing is everybody’s got a different state law, which creates advantages and disadvantages, and everybody’s trying to create advantages. So you probably need an interstate commerce type something that gets it all there. I don’t think it’s in best interest of the players to necessarily be employees
“I think authentic name, image and likeness is good for players, but I don’t think pay for play is necessarily what we want,” Saban said. “We all went to college to create value for our future, and I think we want to keep some semblance of that in terms of guys becoming and developing as people and students and developing a career off the field as well as developing the ability to play at the next level. You got to have a system that enhances all three of those.
He also said that part of the solution to the issues that have risen within college athletics since name, image and likeness (NIL) was passed in July 2021 is to protect the Olympic sports of college athletics.
“We got to protect Olympic sports, whether they produce revenue or not, because it’s opportunities for young people to get an education,” Saban said.
Asked if he thinks this issue within college athletics can be fixed, the seven-time national championship coach said yes. He also said that he doesn’t believe he should be at “be at the tip” of spearheading a commission like this, though he is happy “anyone who would seek our help to try to help fix it.”
“I just think we got to have some people get together and push it forward. I think there’s a lot of people out there who know how to fix it,” Saban said. “I just think we got to push it forward and get everybody together, and some of it may need to be done on the federal level, and that’s where we’re going to have to get people together.”
Saban, who is to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December, went 201-29 in 17 seasons at Alabama, winning six national championships. He holds a 292-71-1 overall record across a 28-year college head coaching career, which includes stints at Toledo, Michigan State and LSU.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nick Saban: ‘Not sure we need’ reported college athletics commission
