Teams visiting Trump as he dismantles the Education Dept. would truly be ‘March Madness’

This week, the focus is on brackets and the ballots for a president whose policies are disrupting the schools these teams represent.

By Carron J. Phillips

Is Cooper Flagg going to be healthy enough for Duke to make a Final Four run?

Are we destined to see JuJu Watkins (USC) vs. Paige Bueckers (UConn) in the Elite Eight?

Will another No. 1 team get upset by a No. 16 seed?

As the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tournaments officially begin, those were some of the questions people were asking themselves as they filled out their brackets. But once the nets are finally cut down in early April, championship teams will have to decide how to respond to an anticipated invitation to the White House from President Donald Trump. Although it might seem that college athletics have recently transformed into professional sports—thanks to players earning money through name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals and the transfer portal acting like free agency—these athletes are still college students. For many of them, completing a FAFSA application, waiting for refund checks, and participating in on-campus activities remain significant parts of their college experience.

In Trump's first term, deciding to visit the White House was largely seen as a tradition or a reflection of one’s political leanings. However, this time, players will be faced with the prospect of visiting a president who is intervening in their college experience—and affecting their finances.

“The question is can they deliver those services without the people actually running them, and operating them, and determining that there needs to be some effectuation of justice in our schools across the country?" Illinois Governor JB Pritzker recently spoke to more than 1,000 educators in his state about the elimination of half of the Education Department’s budget. The workforce is being cut from 4,133 employees to 2,183. Just one state—Massachusetts—is preparing to potentially lose $2 billion in federal funding.

Much discussion has focused on early education and grade schools, but colleges and universities are also threatened. Last week, the department launched investigations into several schools as part of Trump’s campaign against colleges and universities that are linked to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Some schools on this list, including Vanderbilt, Yale, and Duke, are playing in the tournament, A Politico report highlights that the University of Alabama is being investigated for "alleged impermissible race-based scholarships and race-based segregation." The Crimson Tide men's basketball team is a No. 2 seed in the East Region and is a favorite to make a deep tourney run with a roster full of Black players, similar to its powerhouse football program.

The Trump administration announced this month that it was withdrawing $400 million from Columbia University because, in the administration’s view, the school did not adequately address antisemitism on campus, despite public Nazi salutes from Elon Musk and other Trump supporters.

And while we're discussing money, let's take a closer look at how Trump's Education Department has reversed the Biden administration's stance on the application of Title IX regarding NIL payouts for student athletes. The NCAA and major athletic conferences had previously agreed to allow schools to distribute up to $20.5 million in payments to athletes as part of the terms of a pending antitrust settlement. However, the fairness and equality surrounding the distribution of these funds to male and female athletes are now uncertain.

“Now, under Trump, that money is all but guaranteed to flow overwhelmingly to male athletes, mostly football and basketball players,” Jemele Hill wrote earlier this month for The Atlantic. “For example, the University of Georgia plans to give 75 percent of its revenue-sharing to the football team, 15 percent to men’s basketball, 5 percent to women’s basketball, and the remaining 5 percent to all other sports. Other big-time sports schools are expected to follow a similar formula.”

Some of biggest earners in NIL have been female athletes. Several of the most popular names in college sports have been the women who made the Women’s NCAA Tournament a ratings darling—and, at times, a better product than the men’s.

After the final buzzer in that final game, teams will probably have to make a choice: Go to the White House or not.

The tradition of championship teams visiting the White House began in 1869. In 1984, Ronald Reagan, who popularized the slogan "make America great again," started honoring women's basketball champions. He hosted a ceremony for the University of Southern California team that included notable players such as Cheryl Miller, Cynthia Cooper, and the McGee twins. Four decades later, Trump has transformed the White House into a place that stands against the values embraced by young, educated college students, especially women.

Keep this in mind as you fill out your brackets, because those who cast their votes in support of this administration are making life more challenging for the young men and women who are preparing to take the court for your enjoyment.

Carron J. Phillips is an award-winning journalist who writes on race, culture, social issues, politics, and sports. He hails from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a graduate of Morehouse College and Syracuse University.

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