Buckeyes divided over Trump's college sports shake-up | Opinion

It would limit college athletes to five years total playing time and would permit them to transfer from one university to another only once.

US President Donald Trump dances as US Musical Group The Village People perform the song "YMCA" during the draw for the 2026 FIFA Football World Cup taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico, at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, DC, on December 5, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP)

What Ohio voters say

Recent polling suggests this not a popular move, among Ohio voters at least.

Between April 7 and 14, the Democracy and Public Policy Network at Bowling Green State University conducted through YouGov a survey of 1,000 Ohio registered voters.

Through weighting, the sample is 49% men, 82% White, 12% Black, and voted for Trump by a margin of 51% to 40%.

Fully 41% of respondents are Republicans, while 28% are Democrats and 26% are Independents The margin of error is +/- 3.88%.

While 53% of respondents oppose the president’s order, 47% support it.

However, the passion is on the side of opposition, where 29% strongly oppose it and only 19% strongly favor it. Of course, this could just indicate that some committed anti-Trump voters may oppose everything with his name attached to it.

In terms of political party, 75% of Republicans support the executive order, while only 16% of Democrats and 31% of Independents do.

If the president was thinking of politics while engaging with college athletics, what he did appears to appeal to his base, but does not move Independents or Democrats much his way.

It is also interesting to note that the Republican Party has traditionally stood for smaller government, more individual freedom and individual choice and responsibility in the marketplace. Yet the overwhelming majority of Ohio Republican respondents support limiting the economic freedom of college athletes.

The racial and age splits

Perhaps some committed pro-Trump voters may support anything with his name attached to it, regardless of previous commitments.

Fully 52% of White respondents support the executive order while 82% of Black respondents oppose it.

According to the NCAA, including all divisions, 40% of college football players are Black, while 44% of college basketball players are. Around 12.5% of college students are Black.

Perhaps the overwhelming opposition among Black Ohio voters to the executive order stems in part from opposition to the limiting of economic opportunities for Black student athletes.

The absence of current NCAA student athletes at the White House summit fueled speculation that the best interest of the athletes was not the focus of the meeting in Washington.

There is also a bit of an age gap. Fully 54% of respondents aged 50-64 support the executive order, while only 42% of 18– to 29-year-olds do. Perhaps those still in, or closer to, their college years sympathize more with freedom of choice for college athletes than those who are more removed from the traditional university experience.

There can be no doubt that the landscape of college athletics has changed dramatically and will continue to do so.

College athletes can make more money than ever before and can do it legitimately. They can transfer from one program to another with impunity, and President Trump does not like it.

As with most of President Trump’s policies, Ohio voters are quite divided on his executive order concerning college sports, with Republicans and older voters supporting it, and Black voters, younger voters and Democrats opposing it.

While sports can bring people together, government involvement in sports seems to divide.

David J. Jackson, Guest columnist

David J. Jackson is a professor in the Bowling Green State University Department of Political Science and president of the BGSU Faculty Association.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Trump’s college sports order reveals deep divides in Ohio | Opinion