The name most synonymous with Alabama Crimson Tide football is Nick Saban. From 2007 to 2023, Saban turned Alabama into an SEC powerhouse, winning seven national titles. During his final years, the NCAA, the sports governing body, opened the floodgates for player compensation through name, image, and likeness (NIL). Paired with evading any semblance of transfer portal rules, college football quickly shifted to a Wild West-like feel. Saban retired shortly after the transition in the college football landscape, stepping away after the 2023 season.
On Wednesday, Saban announced his return to college sports under a new title. Saban may be retired from coaching, but he’s far from finished shaping college football. According to The Athletic, the legendary Alabama football frontmen will co-chair President Donald Trump’s proposed commission on college sports.
Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The initiative, which Trump has hinted at during his second term in the Oval Office, is set to address the sport’s most pressing and polarizing issues: NIL, the transfer portal, conference realignment, and Title IX.
Advertisement
There are no reports on other members of Trump’s college sports commission. It remains unclear when or if the body will formally launch.
Saban, 73, is widely considered the greatest college football coach ever. We retired following the 2023 season after winning seven national titles—six with Alabama and one at LSU—and transforming the Crimson Tide into the defining dynasty of the 21st century.
Saban did not hesitate to bash NIL and the transfer portal during his final coaching seasons. In recent years, Saban has been a vocal advocate for reforming NIL policies and stabilizing the transfer portal, warning of a system tilting toward chaos.
“This is not what college football is supposed to be,” Saban said during a Hey Coach & The Nick Saban Show segment in 2022.
Related: Tyler Booker and Dallas Cowboys Make First Major Move Together
