As an avid college sports fan (Go Tar Heels!) I've found myself increasingly concerned about the state of affairs. Conference realignment has split apart longstanding rivalries and required excessive travel for student-athletes. Watered-down eligibility standards have created enormous uncertainty about who is allowed to participate in college athletics—even permitting former professionals to return to the field.
And the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules have produced mixed results—wisely allowing athletes to earn compensation for their talents, but unfortunately contributing to a head-spinning level of roster turnover. This problem has been exacerbated by lax transfer rules that have forced fans to reacquaint themselves with an almost entirely new roster of players each season.
College athletics desperately needs a fan-centric makeover. While this won’t be easy, one thing is abundantly clear: the federal government isn’t the answer to fixing college sports.
Unfortunately, some well-intentioned, but horribly misguided members of Congress are trying to put the federal government in the coach’s chair, indeed, giving the feds more of a say in college sports than even coaches enjoy.
Under the Protect College Sports Act, the federal government would have unprecedented levels of control over college sports. The government would dictate the frequency of rivalry games, set standards for transfers, set guidelines for which games are broadcast where, restrict conference mergers, and establish an end date for the college football season.
If all of this meddling wasn’t enough, the bill would also create the Congressional Commission on the Future of College Athletics so Congress could continue to stick its nose where it doesn’t belong.
A more measured approach for Congress would be to pass the SCORE Act, which would provide a transparent, broad framework for NIL deals. This standard avoids a 50-state patchwork of rules, without creating an overly prescriptive regulatory morass at the federal level.
College sports have changed significantly in recent years and certainly need significant reforms. But I cannot think of anyone less suited to the task than the United States Congress. The Protect College Sports Act would be a disaster for March Madness, college football Saturdays, and pretty much all of our college sports traditions.