Jason Belzer

The mistake in the White House college sports roundtable is thinking the system can somehow return to what it was.

But it can’t.

College athletics didn’t break because NIL happened. It broke because media money, conference realignment, and the professionalization of football and basketball fundamentally changed the economics of the system.

What Charlie Baker said is the most honest line of the day:

“The money part has to be part of the conversation and it’s gotta involve the student-athletes.”

That’s the reality.

The old model worked when college sports were a campus activity. Today it’s a multi-billion dollar entertainment business. You can’t run a modern sports economy with 1980s governance structures.

The next phase of college athletics isn’t about “going back.” It’s about building the operating system for a new industry.

I’d estimate at least 50% of players still looking for a spot went into the portal in the first place because an “agent/manager” convinced them they’d make more money elsewhere.

College sports programs aren’t just about wins and losses — they’re billion-dollar brands powered by media rights, fan demand, and scale.

So how do you measure what they’re really worth?

@AD_University and @CNBC present 2025's most valuable college athletic programs:

As college athletics accelerates into its professionalized future, much of the national conversation has focused on the Power 4 and particularly on how top-tier conferences will restructure, redistribute revenue, and maintain competitive equity in a post-House world.

But what if the more interesting question isn’t about the top of the pyramid, but the base?

athleticdirectoru.com/video/from-und…

When we launched @JewishCoaches two decades ago, our vision was simple: create a warm, welcoming space for a small, often-overlooked community of coaches in college basketball. Just a handful of us, gathering once a year around a table with bagels and lox on a Saturday morning.

The past 18 months have been especially difficult for Jews around the world—and for our members on college campuses, who have found themselves on the frontlines of a painful resurgence of antisemitism.

That’s why this year’s annual breakfast feels more meaningful than ever. For many, it’s the highlight of their year—a rare moment of connection, pride, and shared purpose.

And perhaps that’s what makes it so remarkable that three of the four coaches in this year’s Final Four are members of our Tribe. On the very same day we come together to break bread, they’ll be representing our community on one of the biggest stages in sports.

אַף עַל פִּי כֵן — נַאֲמִין