Greg Sankey opens up on golf trip with President Donald Trump

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey opened up on his golf trip with President Donald Trump over the weekend. He and Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua played golf with the president to discuss matters across college athletics.

President Trump was in attendance at UFC 316 Saturday night, held in Newark, New Jersey. He then hosted Sankey and Bevacqua at his club in Bedminster.

As far as what was discussed, Sankey was mum on the subject. Although, he opened up on the day and mentioned it was a productive meeting.

“Not a secret,” Sankey said Monday. “Had the opportunity to play around and golf with the president. I’ve always appreciated his interest in college sports. We’ve hosted him at some of our games. I think, collectively, we’ve hosted him at national championships. What was helpful for me is – and for Pete [Bevacqua] as well – to hear his thoughts and his perspectives, to share some of ours. I think those are best left for the moment on the golf course.”

It would have been interesting to hear the perspectives of all parties involved in the golf outing. As far as where this goes from here is anyone’s guess.

Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported President Trump’s meeting with Sankey and Bevacqua could ultimately lead to action from the White House or even expedite Congressional negotiations over college sports legislation. The president created a commission and selected a chair group that would oversee the look to solve the issues in college athletics. President Trump even wanted to tap former Alabama head coach Nick Saban to lead the charge. The commission work was paused two weeks ago.

All of this is on the heels of the House Settlement which now allows colleges and universities to directly pay their athletes. It was a near $3 billion settlement.

The settlement also imposes new restrictions on college sports. An NIL clearinghouse will be established, titled “NIL Go” and run through Deloitte. All third-party NIL deals of $600 or more must be approved by the clearinghouse. 

If not approved, the settlement says a new third-party arbiter could deem athletes ineligible or result in a school being fined. In a gathering at the ACC spring meetings last week, Deloitte officials reportedly shared that 70% of past deals from NIL collectives would have been denied, while 90% of past deals from public companies would have been approved.