Latest news with #SCORE Act
New York Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
SCORE Act advances through committee, moving college sports reform closer to House floor
A bill that would help regulate college sports and how athletes are compensated by schools made it through a House committee on Wednesday — a notable step on the way to it conceivably being put to a vote — while public criticism of the potential legislation also mounted. After years of lobbying for help from Congress by college sports leaders, the SCORE Act is the first bill to move through committees in either chamber. The House Energy and Commerce committee and the Committee on Education and the Workforce both approved the bill with only Republican votes and no Democratic support. Advertisement That clears the way for the bill to go to the floor of the House for a vote, but the soonest that could happen is in the fall Congressional session starting in September, with summer recess looming. Before either hearing was held, attorneys general from Florida, Ohio, New York, Tennessee and the District of Columbia sent a letter to six committee chairs and ranking members of Congress, detailing their strong opposition to the bill. 'The SCORE Act is a misguided effort that will enshrine in federal law the arbitrary and biased authority of the NCAA at its worst,' the letter said. The proposed legislation from seven Republican and two Democratic sponsors prevents athletes from obtaining employment status and mirrors many of the terms of the recent House v. NCAA settlement. It would officially end most administrative restrictions on athletes' name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation, but it allows schools and conferences to establish what is and isn't permissible. Should it pass, it would override current NIL laws, which vary from state to state, and grant antitrust protections to the NCAA and conferences. Critics say the bill is too deferential to the NCAA and power conferences, who have led the efforts to push for a federal law. Even if the SCORE Act passes a House vote on partisan lines with Republicans in control, it faces a much higher bar in the Senate. The bill would need 60 votes to pass in the Senate, including seven Democrats. One of those Democrats, Sen. Maria Cantwell, has already voiced opposition to the SCORE Act, calling it the 'national championship of all heists.' The players' associations of several professional sports leagues also came out with a joint statement, encouraging lawmakers to reject the bill. Big West commissioner Dan Butterly wrote in a letter to Rep. Michael Baumgartner (D-Wash.), another SCORE Act critic, that too many of the bill's provisions are skewed toward what would work for schools in the wealthiest conferences rather than the majority of Division I schools. Advertisement 'Institutions within The Big West are proud to offer meaningful educational and competitive experiences to student-athletes. But without financial safeguards, structural flexibility and inclusive policymaking, reforms like the SCORE Act may unintentionally harm the very programs they seek to protect,' Butterly wrote. As written, the SCORE Act probably has little chance of garnering enough support to pass the Senate, if it gets there. Still, the progress is meaningful. For the first time, lawmakers have prioritized the need to help college sports sort out its issues enough for a bill to be debated in committee and possibly sent to the full body for consideration. The next notable step out of Washington on college sports could be coming from the executive branch. President Donald Trump has signaled his interest in getting involved in the issue, possibly by forming a commission to search for solutions or by signing an executive order. A draft of 'Saving College Sports,' obtained by The Athletic, directs the Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board to address the debate over the employment status of college athletes. It also calls for members of Trump's cabinet and other political officials to pursue policy and protections in a number of other areas related to college sports, including rules that could be challenged by antitrust complaints and continued opportunity for scholarships and roster spots, along with preventing 'unqualified or unscrupulous agents from representing athletes.' — Stewart Mandel and Justin Williams contributed reporting.
Associated Press
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
USOPC asks for tweak of college sports bill to set minimum spending limits for Olympic programs
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee leaders are pushing lawmakers for tweaks to legislation that would regulate college sports by adding guarantees that schools will spend the same percentage on Olympic programs in the future as they do now. USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland told The Associated Press on Monday that a letter she and chair Gene Sykes sent to members of Congress last week was intended to restart a conversation about the SCORE Act, which currently calls for schools to sponsor at least 16 teams. That's a number that conforms with current NCAA rules for Power Four schools, and one that Hirshland worries would give schools no incentive to fund non-revenue sports that power the Olympic pipeline. 'You look and you say, 'Is that effectively going to thwart the issue of allocating too many resources to football and not enough to other things?' And my assessment is, no, it's not going to do that,' Hirshland said. The USOPC says all but three of the 67 Power Four schools sponsor more than 16 sports and the average school in that group has more than 21. At last year's Paris Olympics, 75% of U.S. Olympians and 53% of Paralympians had a connection with U.S. college sports. The SCORE Act recently passed a House subcommittee and is set for markup this week, a process in which lawmakers amend certain facets of the bill. Hirshland said USOPC leadership has long been in discussions about adding provisions that would compel schools to spend at least the same percentage on Olympic sports as they do now. 'The bill, as it's written, would make it too easy for a school to starve 15 programs and invest in one,' Hirshland said. 'It's important schools have the latitude to make decisions that are most effective for the school, but while also creating an environment that says 'You don't just need to be a football school.'' She said she was encouraged that lawmakers were including provisions for protecting Olympic sports in a bill that would regulate the shifting college landscape. The SCORE Act proposes to provide limited antitrust protection for the NCAA and would place the college sports' name, image, likeness system under one federal law instead of a mishmash of state regulations. Starting this month, schools are allowed to pay up to $20.5 million to athletes in NIL deals. Most of that money will be funneled to football and basketball players, whose sports generate the bulk of college athletics revenue. It has left many to wonder about the future of the Olympic programs. The act also includes a section that purports to protect Olympic sports with the 16-team minimum, but in the letter to House leaders, Sykes and Hirshland were skeptical of that. 'The USOPC is committed to being a partner in this process and would welcome the opportunity to share further insights, data, and recommendations,' they wrote. It also mandates that athletes not be turned into employees of their schools, a sticking point for some Democrats that figures to keep the bill from moving along in the Senate, where it would need 60 votes to pass. Hirshland said the USOPC hasn't taken a 'strong position' on the employment issue, and is mostly concerned that any legislation includes strong protection for Olympic sports. She says the USOPC-backed idea of keeping spending at certain percentages isn't the only answer to the issue, but might be the simplest and best. 'We don't want schools to starve Olympic sports by cutting them or starving them,' she said. 'We want them to continue to provide investment in the growth of these sports.' ___ AP college sports:
