in effect
Executive Order 14400, signed April 3, 2026, directs federal agencies to use their contracting and grant-making authority to enforce college athletics rules, primarily those set by the NCAA or a comparable national governing body. It also instructs the Attorney General to challenge state laws that conflict with those national rules, and sets an August 1, 2026 effective date for most provisions.
Federal agencies that fund universities through contracts or grants must evaluate whether those schools have violated national athletic governing body rules on eligibility, transfers, revenue sharing, and payments — and may suspend or debar non-compliant schools from federal funding. The order bans universities from using federal funds for NIL payments, revenue-sharing with athletes, or coaching compensation. It calls on the national governing body to cap athletic eligibility at five years, limit transfers to one penalty-free transfer per career (a second if the athlete earns a degree), provide injury-related medical care, and create a national agent registry. The FTC is directed to police misconduct by athlete agents, and the Department of Education must consider requiring schools to report roster sizes and athletic spending by gender. The Attorney General is directed to challenge state NIL or recruiting laws that arguably burden interstate commerce or impair contracts.
Colleges and universities with at least $20 million in annual athletics revenue are directly subject to the order’s requirements and face potential loss of federal contracts and grants for violations. Student-athletes are affected through new eligibility and transfer rules the governing body is directed to adopt, as well as new agent protections. State governments that have passed their own NIL or recruitment laws may face federal legal challenges if those laws conflict with national governing body rules.