Who are the most powerful people in college football? The USA TODAY Sports Network decided to figure it out.
Our panel of experts debated and discussed the topic for hours and settled on the top 25 going into the 2025 season, with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey taking the top spot in a vote after the list was determined.
Names like Sankey, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, Colorado coach Deion Sanders and retired coach Nick Saban will be familiar to college football fans, but others like Jimmy Sexton, Cole Gahagan and Dave Brown hold tremendous sway behind the scenes. And some members of this exclusive club, like President Donald Trump, may surprise you.
Our panel of experts from our network who decided on this ranking included national college football writers Matt Hayes and Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY sports writers Paul Myerberg and Brent Schrotenboer, former USA TODAY sports columnist Dan Wolken and beat writers Frank Bodani (Penn State), Scott Wright (Oklahoma State) and Marc Weiszer (Georgia). Editors Erick Smith, Andrew Birkle and Tommy Deas helped shape the discussion.
Here are the top 25 most powerful people in college football as the 2025 season gets underway.
