The flaws of this bill outweigh its strengths and should be opposed until brought back with major revisions detailed below. Under the circumstances (size and scope of this 171-page bill and sheer number of concerns), the Senate should consider a “skinny bill” that simply addresses the immediate concerns of our schools:  eligibility, pro athletes, transfer portal, and control of rogue player agents, giving its respected sponsors more time to address member concerns. Members appear to agree on all of these NEEDED NOW points.

The Drake Group applauds the United States Senate for recognizing the need for comprehensive federal legislation governing intercollegiate athletics. The proposed legislation contains numerous provisions that provide important protections for college athletes, including enhanced medical coverage, stronger academic safeguards, scholarship protections, improved health and safety standards, greater transparency in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) transactions, and the establishment of an independent Student-Athlete Ombudsman. We believe these provisions also should be brought forth as part of the separate “skinny” bill that immediately addresses these issues before the end of this session.

The Drake Group believes the legislation as currently proposed ultimately falls short of addressing the fundamental problem confronting higher education: a financially unsustainable cash transaction-based system of intercollegiate athletics that increasingly operates independent of—and often in conflict with—the educational mission of colleges and universities. When Congress returns in September to consider the bill (following postponement of a cloture vote on August 7), it has an historic opportunity not simply to manage today’s marketplace but to realign college athletics with the educational purposes for which it was created.