MAILBAG! Trump's college sports EO, CAA FB realignment, and more

Good morning, and thanks for spending part of your day with Extra Points.

It’s been a very busy first week back at the ol’ office. Beyond writing three other newsletters (a rumination on personal and fan identity, some reporting on why big brands may decide to hit apparel free agency, and an explanation as to why D-II Augusta University is opting into the House settlement….for golf), we’ve also been working to interview candidates to run NIL Wire, making very significant changes to Extra Points Library, prepping for this year’s Extra Points Bowl, and much more.

We’ll have even more reporting next week, but today, I wanted to take a moment to answer a few more of your questions. As always, mailbag questions are accepted on a rolling basis in my email and social media DMs. But first a quick word from our sponsor.

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First, a bunch of people asked, essentially, “what’s up with that Trump Executive Order?”

I plan to write a much longer newsletter next week about the various political developments surrounding college athletic legislation, but developments yesterday afternoon warrant some kind of comment.

In case you missed this, President Trump signed an Executive Order “…to protect student-athletes and collegiate athletic scholarships and opportunities, including in Olympic and non-revenue programs, and the unique American institution of college sports.” This order states that “it is the policy of the executive branch that third-party, pay-for-play payments to collegiate athletes are improper and should not be permitted by universities.”

It also calls for “the Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board to clarify the status of student-athletes in order to preserve non-revenue sports and the irreplaceable educational and developmental opportunities that college sports provide.” I think it’s safe to assume this would mean some sort of statement indicating that the Secretary of Labor and the NLRB do not believe college athletes should be considered employees.

Now, executive orders aren’t laws, and the conventional wisdom here is that this particular EO doesn’t mean that much in the grand scheme of things. What the NCAA really wants, an antitrust exemption to allow them to enforce NIL structures and eligibility rules, requires an act of Congress.

I’m skeptical of that conventional wisdom. I do remember enough of my college political science coursework to recall that yes, it is true that EOs aren’t laws, and that antitrust exemptions would not be considered the purview of the executive branch. If the NCAA and P4 conferences want policy that is likely to last longer than one presidential term, they need Congress.

But the federal government of today doesn’t exactly work like the one I learned about in college. Congress and the courts have given more deference to the executive branch (see: tariff policy, appropriations, war powers, etc.) , and this particular administration has shown a willingness to aggressively deploy other tools to influence private businesses, higher education, and other entities not traditionally seen as under the purview of the executive.

So could the executive branch try to withhold unrelated federal funding to influence athletics policy? Yes, I think that’s absolutely a possibility.

I’d agree that the more Trump gets involved, the harder it will be to convince a few Democratic senators to sign on to the SCORE Act, allowing it to break a filibuster. But I’m not willing to say it’s impossible…or that Republicans won’t simply find another way to get what they want.

I’ll have more next week.

Reader Tim asks,

Earlier this week, Sacred Heard joined the CAA as a football member, effective in 2026. The move will give CAA Football 13 members.

While I can’t report this for certain, I do think it is a reasonable assumption that Merrimack, the other FCS independent, will find its way to the CAA. The two programs competed for the Yankee Conference Championship last year, (Sacred Heart won, 31-20).

Folks in the CAA orbit described the expansion move, to me, as partly motivated as a membership insurance policy. Several teams have recently left the CAA, with Villanova and William & Mary most recently departing for the Patriot. As the SoCon kicks the tires on potential football expansion, and with other leagues looking to potentially add new members (like the UAC), it’s entirely possible that a roster of 13 or 14 schools could become 12 or 11 in a year or two.

For what it’s worth, I’m told that there aren’t enough votes among America East institutions for that conference to sponsor football and for teams like New Hampshire and Maine to leave the CAA…but that could change in the future. Enough administrators apparently believe that even with depleted membership, the CAA is still a better football conference than what could potentially be built out of the AE. Will that mindset hold forever? Only time will tell.

Reader KC asks,

It isn’t fine dining or anything, but one of my favorite foods in Brazil is the humble Pastel, which is essentially the Brazilian version of the Empanada. They’re thin pies, fried in vegetable oil. The fillings can be savory (shrimp, beef, chicken, broccoli, cheese, etc.) or sweet (coconut, Nutella, guava), and are a staple at parks or festivals. A hot pastel, washed down with a cold Guaraná, is a real treat. They look like this:

I spent a lot of my vacation at parks and nature centers. A pretty common setup would be for our family to do a guided tour or hike in the morning, and then come back to a buffet lunch full of Brazilian staples…Moqueca de Camaroes, Feijoada, Coxinhas, a huge salad bar, and basically every grilled meat you could think of. I know our brothers and sisters in the South are very serious about barbecue, but my Brazilian cousins have something to say in that department as well.

Finally… I’m going to be honest. I’ve never had any alcoholic beverage that tasted better than a passion fruit Caipirinha. Who knew that basically making a drink out of sugar would taste good?

Speaking of Brazil, reader Oscar asks,

There are a lot of universities in Brazil, but the campus culture isn’t very similar that of the United States. The largest and most prestigious schools, like USP, don’t really have much in the way of dorms or student-driven activities at all…and the idea of highly organized sport clubs that compete against other universities would feel very culturally alien.

If you’re a high level athlete in Brazil, you’re probably going to participate in a club system, just like you would in Europe, or maybe play college sports in the United States.

Now, American football actually is pretty popular in Brazil. The NFL is playing games there for a reason, after all. But since college athletic events are very hard to watch (they’re not on linear TV and you can’t watch ESPN+ down there without a VPN), there’s not much of a fanbase.

Personally, I think somebody should try to change that. I bet if BYU played, like, Miami in Rio or São Paulo, it’d sell out.

Reader Dave asks,

How much does one good year impact what kind apparel contract a school gets?

It’s a good question. Having a great season right before a school hits the free agency market certainly doesn’t hurt. But much like realignment and other massive business deals, I don’t think one single season is enough to massively alter your trajectory. Apparel companies decide who to do business with, and on what terms, based on tons of factors…like market size, who else is bidding for those rights, longer-term athletic performance, and more.

If your alma mater makes the CFP and has a household name take the nation by storm, sure, that’s going to help. But if you’re hoping that catching lighting in a bottle will lead to a bidding war that elevates your school from average to Flagship Brand… I don’t think that’s very realistic.

And finally,

My girls are OBSESSED with this movie. I have heard the soundtrack nearly on a 24/7 loop over the last few weeks, which is the sort of thing that will make my brain want to exit my head and hurl itself over the Kennedy Expressway, just like it when my daughters decided that Baby Shark, or Katy Perry, or the soundtrack to Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires, were core parts of their personalities.

I asked my girls, and they said that their favorite songs are Takedown, Soda Pop, and Free. My favorite songs are “whatever the last one is because that means that soon my house will be once again filled with the sweet, sweet release of silence.” At least, until one of them steals my phone and turns on Spotify again.

And on that note, I’ll see you in your inbox next week. Have a good weekend, everybody.

And as a reminder, if you’re looking for the most current college sports data, from coach contracts to athletic department budgets, vendor deals to FRS reports…we’ve got what you need at the Extra Points Library. Browsing is free! Check out what we’ve picked up from the FOIA-mobile today: