Former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban has been a key part of the fight to preserve the integrity of college sports, and for the last year, has been in close contact with President Trump as he drafted up an executive order to address the issues.

In a message from the White House following the Trump EO, Saban spoke about it and thanked the President for his determination in getting this across the finish line, sharing his pride to have played a role.

“I would just like to thank President Trump for having the foresight to know that there are things we need to do to change the future of college athletics and to bring this group together is really something special and I’m especially proud to be a part of it,” Saban said in the video which was likely shot around the time of the headline-forming roundtable event Trump hosted.

“The question we need to ask is what are the future guidances we want to create for college athletics? When I was a coach, I always wanted to create an atmosphere for the players that would help them be more successful in life…with the new circumstances in college athletics it got more difficult to do that.”

Saban putting himself at the center of the fight has been massive for being able to get things done, and while there is still clearly a ton of work to do, having influential figures like Nick Saban involved increases the likelihood that college athletics will move in the right direction.