76ers’ David Blitzer attended Trump’s White House roundtable on college sports
David Blitzer, co-managing partner of the Philadelphia 76ers, was invited to attend President Donald Trump's "Saving College Sports Roundtable."
Philadelphia 76ers co-managing partner David Blitzer attended President Donald Trump’s roundtable on college sports at the White House on Friday, a spokesperson for the team and Blitzer confirmed to The Inquirer.
Blitzer, of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment — which owns the 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils — was invited to the president’s “Saving College Sports Roundtable.”
It appears that Blitzer did not deliver remarks at the roundtable, according to a video recording of the event, which also featured lawmakers, college commissioners, and sports and business leaders. No NCAA athletes were present.
The 76ers spokesperson declined to comment further on Blitzer’s presence at the event. The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
Much of Blitzer’s portfolio focuses on professional sports, but he has also been involved in college athletics.
In 2024, the Athletic reported that Blitzer was part of a 20-person group called “College Sports Tomorrow” that proposed significant changes to college football, including goals of replacing the NCAA and the College Football Playoff. The group also wanted to implement reforms related to name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules — which allow student athletes to be paid — and the business of sports.
Trump said the participants at Friday’s meeting were “the most important people in college sports and really beyond.”
The president’s roundtable, held in the East Room, focused on potential changes for college sports, especially related to a district court ruling in California last year that allowed revenue to be shared with college athletes, taking an economic toll on college athletic departments.
Trump said he would sign an executive order soon with input from individuals at the roundtable to address issues in college sports.
Participants also mostly agreed that a bill called the SCORE Act that would provide the NCAA with a limited antitrust exemption (opposed by Democrats) and would preempt state laws regarding NIL could be the base of any change.
In December, Pennsylvania U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R., York) joined Republican U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Chip Roy of Texas and Democrats in voting to not bring the legislation to the floor of the House.
During the Friday roundtable, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) suggested the bill, which has struggled to get through the lower chamber, could now have enough support to pass.
“A lot of good work’s gone into that to get it there, and we think it may be the vehicle to get us to the next phase of this and this essential conversation,” he said.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.