Clouds move over Tiger Stadium on the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge on March 20, 2023. (Matthew Perschall for Louisiana Illuminator)
WASHINGTON – A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators on Wednesday endorsed their bill to set national standards for compensation for college athletes, calling the compromise bill the best option available.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state – the top members of the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the matter – convened a roundtable of coaches, executives and college athletes your bill was introduced this month to “restore order to college athletics.”
The far-reaching bill is intended to address many of the biggest challenges in college sports, but it still has a long way to go before it becomes law due to opposition from key figures, including major athletic conferences.
Cruz acknowledged the opposition but urged support for the bipartisan compromise.
“In my opinion, this is the only train leaving the station. That said, I think this bill has a real chance of passage – it’s bipartisan,” Cruz said, acknowledging that at least 60 senators would be needed to advance a bill past the filibuster.
The Republicans only have 53 seats.
“In my view, every critic, anyone who attacks this bill, needs to ask, ‘What’s the alternative?'” he added.
Cantwell said that while she and Cruz disagree on several things, even on issues that fall under the committee’s jurisdiction, “we agree on the issue of setting some of the rules.”
The Washington state Democrat said she and Cruz were “somewhat disappointed that this universe of institutions and organizations couldn’t get there, but we are an example of people who disagree but can agree.”
New reality in college sports
The bill represents the latest push by Congress to overhaul the world of college sports, which continues to grapple with the fallout from the 2021 NCAA guidelines that allowed student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL).
Colleges, companies and marketers are also grappling with a patchwork of state NIL laws, gender inequality in NIL deals and the controversial NCAA transfer portal, among other issues.
Among several major changes, the Senate bill would create a national NIL standard that pre-empts the patchwork of state laws, provides certain antitrust protections for the NCAA and college athletic conferences, and establishes a five-year time frame for athlete eligibility.
Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware co-sponsored the bill.
Big South Conference Commissioner Sherika Montgomery said, “The things included (in the bill) will provide a level of stability and sustainability while providing an opportunity and path to success that I know our current 4,300 student-athletes truly value.”
The conference includes nine member institutions in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia and is affiliated with Division I of the NCAA.
Montgomery pointed to a patchwork of state laws in just those three states that have led to a “level of instability,” noting that “as our coaches recruit not only against themselves in our conference, but also against other coaches in each state, the gap with the current rules we have in place has become greater.”
The bill stipulates that athletes will also be guaranteed a transfer without losing their eligibility to play.
Gannon Flynn, a swimmer at Boston University, said the bill “regulates the transfer industry well,” adding, “As more and more athletes transfer one year, two years (at a school) and four, five, six times, it’s impossible to get those degrees.”
Asked by Cruz what the consequences would be if Congress doesn’t act, Flynn said: “We’re going to continue to see rules that the NCAA still has in place being struck down by the courts one by one every time someone does something that violates the rule and then goes to the judge of their choice to rule in their favor, and then we have to regulate each state to help them.”
He added: “If we continue on this path we will no longer have rules, there will be no integrity in the game and without clear, enforceable and fair rules there will be no point in even competing.”
Growing resistance
Although members of the roundtable on Wednesday pointed to the “stability” the bill could bring to college sports, the measure is already facing opposition from powerful sports organizations like the Big Ten and Southeastern Conferenceswho have stated that they do not support the bill as drafted and that the legislation “leaves critical issues unresolved.”
Cruz and Cantwell later met with the Presidents And Chancellor of schools in both conferences.
The Congressional Black Caucus also sent one letter this month to Cruz and Cantwell, who are calling on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee to pause consideration of the bill and related college sports legislation “until athletic leaders meaningfully address concerns about attacks on Black political representation.”
The huge voting bloc supported the NAACP’s call to oppose GOP-led redistricting efforts in the South through college sports, including a boycott of public universities by athletes and fans.
A competing bill The issue of compensating college athletes remains stalled in the House of Representatives after it was removed from the voting schedule in May following unanimous opposition from the caucus.
