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ESPN Sources: Trump, college leaders to tackle issues at roundtable

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The Power 4 conference commissioners are expected to join dozens of sports celebrities and dignitaries on March 6 at the White House in a roundtable discussion with President Donald Trump about the future of college athletics, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.

President Trump will chair the group, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and New York Yankees president Randy Levine are listed as vice chairs, according to a source who provided a list of 35 people who received invitations. The list also includes:

  • Golfer Tiger Woods
  • Former college football coaches Nick Saban, Mack Brown and Urban Meyer
  • Former secretary of state and College Football Playoff selection committee member Condoleezza Rice
  • New England Patriots president Jonathan Kraft
  • NBA commissioner Adam Silver
  • Fox Sports president Eric Shanks
  • ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro
  • Several athletic directors, including Notre Dame's Pete Bevacqua
  • Former college athletes, including Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Florida State basketball and football player Charlie Ward
The list also includes current university presidents and chancellors.

It's unknown whether everyone invited will attend the event, which is called the "College Sports Roundtable." Multiple sources planning to attend expressed skepticism about how much could be done on a Friday afternoon with so many people from different backgrounds involved.

"It's people who could be involved in helping shape the future of college athletics and some of the solutions and strategies to structuring the athletic world going forward," said one source who plans to attend. "It's so preliminary, it's hard to say anything with any sort of specificity because there hasn't been anything provided to us in writing of that sort yet."

Also expected to attend is billionaire businessman Cody Campbell, chairman of Texas Tech's board of regents and a former college football player, who has been working on a "Saving College Sports" campaign and involved in discussions about a possible roundtable for more than a year.

Leaders throughout college athletics have also been meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill for years to rally support for legislation to help regulate NIL. Despite Trump's outspoken support and multiple politicians taking stances on issues such as athlete employment, the NCAA has been unable to get a bill to the floor for a vote.

Yahoo Sports was first to report the meeting.
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Fun fact: Charlie Ward was Tre Donaldson’s HS coach
 
Somebody help me out here. What does Condoleezza Rice have to do with any of this? I never understood her inclusion on the CFP committee either.

I have no issue with her as a person. I just don't understand what qualifies her to make these decisions for college athletics. All the other names on the list are players, coaches or team owners, or work for a team's front office.
 
If you think the second trump college football foray will do anything more than the first "commission," may i interest you in some buildable land in the Everglades...

to paraphrase "south carolina- good team (1-7 SEC, 4-8)"
 
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SCarolina Ibis said:
Somebody help me out here. What does Condoleezza Rice have to do with any of this? I never understood her inclusion on the CFP committee either.

I have no issue with her as a person. I just don't understand what qualifies her to make these decisions for college athletics. All the other names on the list are players, coaches or team owners, or work for a team's front office.
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She is the out-of-the-box input that keeps everyone grounded. I have no idea!!
 
SCarolina Ibis said:
Somebody help me out here. What does Condoleezza Rice have to do with any of this? I never understood her inclusion on the CFP committee either.

I have no issue with her as a person. I just don't understand what qualifies her to make these decisions for college athletics. All the other names on the list are players, coaches or team owners, or work for a team's front office.
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She is about as qualified as any of these corrupt and/or biased AD's, former players, etc on this committee. The NCAA is what 5 years removed from being ran by Emmert the former AD of LSU and former commissioner of the SEC. The NCAA has been a farce for decades.
 
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