The Alabama Crimson Tide is the one program that has often been lucky to be a hot favorite for the previous U.S. presidents. You name them – John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton. Donald Trump also falls into that list. He has been a diehard Alabama fan who attended Alabama’s National Championship Title game against the Georgia Bulldogs in his previous tenure. Now that President Trump again holds the chair, becoming the 47th President, how could he forget about the Crimson Tide? So, this time he thought of doing something special.
In this endeavor, he tagged ex-Alabama head coach, GOAT Nick Saban, along with him. The mission? To ward off issues that Crimson Tide is facing, including NIL, the transfer portal, conference realignment, and Title IX. However, Trump’s initiative left a college football analyst to point out the shortcomings.
May 1 has been extremely special for the Tuscaloosa fam. They celebrated their special commencement ceremony at Coleman Coliseum on the Alabama campus. The event perfectly blended sports and politics, as Trump joined Saban and college football head coach-turned-senator Tommy Tuberville. There has been a buzz for quite some time that the 47th President could influence amateur athlete pay-for-play in one of several directions this year.
Over the years, Crimson Tide has grown exponentially since debuting on July 1, 2021, in the NIL industry. $917 million in year one, $1 billion in year two. As Tuberville shared, “In the federal government, we can do some things, but we just got to get it passed. I think we can get it on the floor… It’s a hard, hard way to go, but if anybody can get it done, it’s President Trump.”
WASHINGTON D.C, – MARCH 4: President Donald J. Trump delivers his first State of the Union address after his 2024 presidential election to the Joint Session of Congress in Washington DC on March 4, 2025. Copyright: xPatsyxLynchx
And things have actually started. As per the reports, Trump is making plans to create a presidential commission on college athletics, the first step in what could be a months-long endeavor for solutions to the issues ailing the ecosystem. And no brownie points for guessing, the commission will be led by the most popular man in Alabama, Saban. The former head coach will be joining Texas billionaire businessman Cody Campbell.
On The Number One College Football Show, host RJ Young picked this topic. The commission is expected to deeply examine the unwieldy landscape of college sports. For instance, the frequency of player movement in the transfer portal and the unregulated booster compensation paid to athletes. This would also revolve around the debate of college athlete employment, preserving the Olympic sport structure, and so on and so forth. But there remain some concerns.
The analyst started with, “I think this commission that Trump wants to put together, led by Nick Saban, is interesting.” He then cited Yahoo Sports’ Ross Elling’s report. However, while Trump takes up Project Crimson Tide, he has some other responsibilities too. As Young noted, “While you’re at it, throw in there world peace in the Middle East… hunger, poverty, overpopulation, and climate change. Let’s do it all. Throw it all in the commission because that’s essentially what the h–l that they’re going to be discussing.” According to Young, Trump has more urgent matters that he needs to take care of ASAP. Keeping all these serious discussions aside, May 1 was all about good vibes and hilarious stories.
Throwback to a time when Donald Trump pranked Alabama Crimson Tide team
When Trump took the field with a few members of the military during the 2018 National Championship, he had a big regret. He left after halftime and was not in the building when Tua Tagovailoa completed a comeback from 13 down. So, as soon as Alabama won the Natty, Saban and three of his captains made a trip to the White House and made a memory of a lifetime. Trump was the first president to invite Saban and the Crimson Tide into the Oval Office. And on May 1, the former Crimson Tide head coach shared what exactly happened next.
“And before I introduce President Trump, I have to tell you a story. So I take the three captains in the Oval Office, and President is really nice to everybody, and he’s got this very big, good-looking, auspicious box on his desk that has a red button on top.” Being new to the White House, one of them got really inquisitive. “And one of the players said, ‘Is that what you launch the missiles with?’” Little did they realize that the President is such a fun person to be around. What followed next left the whole stadium in stitches.
Nick Saban quoted Donald Trump, “And he said, ‘Well, push it and find out.’ Player said, ‘Nah, I don’t want to do that.’ He said, ‘Oh, go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. Push it. See what happens. Find out.’” So, Rashaan Evans volunteered to press the button. “Some lady came in with a coke on a tray.” A hilarious anti-climax indeed. Trump’s always had a soft spot for the Tide—maybe that winning energy rubs off on this new venture.
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