Future of college sports shouldn’t be dictated by Congress: Sen Rand Paul

Outkick founder Clay Travis discusses President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at overhauling college sports, including name, image and likeness (NIL) earnings

College sports are woven into the fabric of American culture.

We build our fall calendars around Saturday kickoff times, and in March we all fill out our brackets. We tailgate in parking lots — rain or shine, hot or cold.

We invite our neighbors over to watch the game at our house, then fire up the grill while all the kids run around in the yard — and, yes, we start our kids early, dressing them in baby clothes emblazoned with the logo of our alma mater or our hometown team.

College sports can be anything from a conversation starter to the foundation of our most meaningful relationships in life. We celebrate with our family when our team wins while wishing we could celebrate with the ones we miss.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., delivers an opening statement during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing for Sen. Markwayne Mullin's confirmation as DHS secretary in Washington, D.C., on March 18, 2026. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

And while Kentuckians stand proudly shoulder-to-shoulder, there are a couple of days each year when we make sure everyone knows whether we wear Cardinal red or Wildcat blue.

WEST VIRGINIA'S EPIC WALK-OFF SPARKS EMOTIONAL 'COUNTRY ROADS' CELEBRATION THAT DEFINES COLLEGE SPORTS

These are our traditions. It’s our community, our county, our commonwealth, and our country.

Yes, there are rapid changes happening in college sports.

Multiple rulings throughout our courts, including from the Supreme Court, have knocked the old rules out from under college sports, and there’s not much left holding it together today.

Players are moving schools