With certain amendments we are proposing, S. 4668, the Protect College Sports Act, represents an important opportunity to restore stability to a rapidly changing intercollegiate athletics landscape. We commend Congress for undertaking this difficult work. College athletes deserve meaningful economic opportunities, but they also deserve robust educational protections, transparent governance, gender equitable opportunities, and institutions that remain accountable for their academic success and overall well-being.
Among its recommendations, The Drake Group encourages Congress to amend S. 4668 before adoption to:
- Provide that unless specifically stated in the Act to the contrary, nothing in the Act shall amend, modify, supersede or conflict with existing federal law.
- Provide for waivers of the new 5-year eligibility rule for athletic injuries or medical conditions.
The Drake Group recommends further amendments to the Act to require the newly established Commission to consider the following issues:
3 Whether NIL and revenue share compensation data to college athletes should be made transparent and disaggregated by sport.
- Whether the provision mandating 2024-25 level provision of financial assistance should go beyond grants-in-aid to include other forms of financial assistance, such as summer school aid, special assistance funds, academic awards, summer training expenses, and other cash benefits that were received by women and Olympic athletes in 2024-25.
- Whether athletes should have the right to choose arbitration for the resolution of issues and disputes without restrictions.
- Whether there should be an asymmetrical approach to the assessment of reasonable fees and costs in a dispute such that an award against a student only occurs if the student’s claim was frivolous, unreasonable or without foundation.
- Whether the sports broadcasting revenue distribution provisions of the Act should provide incentives to do more than maintain the minimum 2024-25 support for women’s and non-revenue Olympic sports, and whether there should be a category that rewards schools for sponsoring sports beyond the minimum required for Division 1 membership.
Now is not the time to rush, now is the time to take the opportunity to get this right, even if that means delaying action to craft and adopt these amendments.
