Restore College Sports Act: Reforming College Athletics

The Restore College Sports Act, introduced by Rep. Michael Baumgartner, aims to overhaul the structure of college athletics by replacing the NCAA with a new governing body, the American Collegiate Sports Association (ACSA). This legislation seeks to address issues such as NIL deals, coaching salaries, conference alignment, and revenue distribution, with the goal of restoring competitive balance, fairness, and sustainability to college sports.

The Genesis of the Act

Rep. Michael Baumgartner, representing eastern Washington, introduced H.R. 2663, the Restore College Sports Act, following Florida's victory over Houston in the men’s college basketball championship. Baumgartner expressed concern over the current state of college sports, lamenting the absence of upsets and Cinderella stories in March Madness, attributing it to the dominance of larger brands with bigger budgets. He believes the NCAA is a "defunct and broken institution" and that his bill reflects both good policy and good politics.

Baumgartner, raised on the Palouse and now residing in Spokane, stated that college sports have shifted from being about student-athletes, school spirit, and fair competition to an unregulated free-agent market dominated by cash-rich super-conferences. He emphasized the need to restore order to an industry that has "completely lost control." He argues for fair competition rules similar to those Congress has supported for professional sports leagues through antitrust exemptions and revenue-sharing models, especially since most public universities are supported by taxpayers.

Key Provisions of the Restore College Sports Act

The Restore College Sports Act proposes a comprehensive restructuring of college sports, with the following key provisions:

Establishment of the American Collegiate Sports Association (ACSA)

The bill establishes the American Collegiate Sports Association (ACSA) to replace the NCAA. The ACSA would be responsible for overseeing and regulating college sports.

Governance Structure

The ACSA will be led by a commissioner appointed by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the Senate, serving a four-year term.

Member Institution Rules

The bill mandates that all member institutions adhere to specific rules set forth by the ACSA, which include:

Equal Distribution of NIL Revenue

All revenue generated through a student-athlete's name, image, and likeness (NIL) must be equally distributed among all student-athletes at the institution, regardless of fame, position, or sport.

Unrestricted Transfer Rights

Student-athletes will have the right to transfer freely between member institutions without facing penalties or restrictions. Students would have unrestricted transfer rights between institutions.

Geographic Athletic Conferences

Athletic conferences must consist of institutions located within the same time zone to minimize travel and academic disruptions for student-athletes. This measure aims to cut down on excessive travel.

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Equal Revenue Sharing

All athletic program revenues (from tickets, merchandise, sponsorships, and broadcasting) would be shared equally among member institutions and athletes. Broadcast revenue also would need to be distributed equally.

Caps on Coaching Salaries

Coach salaries would be capped at no more than 10 times the full student cost of attendance at each institution. The legislation calls for capping a coach’s maximum salary at 10 times the cost of attending that school “to halt the runaway spending arms race.”

Mandatory Membership

Institutions would be required to join the ACSA and comply with its rules as a condition of participating in collegiate athletics.

Rationale Behind the Proposed Reforms

Baumgartner argues that the current state of college sports is unsustainable, citing the skyrocketing salaries of college football and basketball coaches. He believes that even before NIL implementation in 2021, college athletics was already on an unsustainable path. He aims to address issues such as excessive travel, academic integrity, and the dominance of cash-rich super-conferences.

The proposed reforms are intended to:

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Restore Competitive Balance: By capping coaching salaries, equally distributing NIL revenue, and ensuring revenue sharing, the bill aims to level the playing field and prevent the concentration of resources in a few elite programs.
Protect Academic Integrity: By organizing conferences based on time zones, the bill seeks to reduce travel burdens and minimize academic disruptions for student-athletes.
Save Olympic Sports: Baumgartner believes the current system threatens non-revenue sports, and his bill aims to ensure their survival.

Potential Opposition and Challenges

The Restore College Sports Act is likely to face significant opposition from various stakeholders, including:

The NCAA: The NCAA will likely resist any attempt to wrest power from its control.
Power Conferences: Conferences that have expanded across multiple time zones and benefit from lucrative media deals are likely to oppose the bill's restrictions on conference alignment and revenue distribution.
Coaches: Coaches earning high salaries may resist the proposed salary caps.
Athletes with Lucrative NIL Deals: Athletes who have found success in NIL deals may oppose the equal distribution of NIL revenue.

Critics argue that the bill represents government overreach and misunderstands the market forces driving college athletics. They question whether a star quarterback who generates millions in jersey sales should subsidize every athlete at every institution, arguing that it is not equitable. Some also find the idea of requiring conferences to have only schools from a single time zone unrealistic.

Joe Heitner, founder of Heitner Legal and an adjunct professor of law at the University of Florida and the University of Miami, argues that the equal revenue sharing and coaching salary caps are impractical and fundamentally misunderstand the market forces that drive college athletics.

Congressional Landscape and Prospects

Since 2021, Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate have held numerous hearings and introduced several bills to address the NIL issue and changes in college sports, but Congress hasn’t come close to enacting nationwide regulations. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, has introduced his own legislation to codify NIL rights in federal law.

Ehrlich suggests that the various bills proposed in Congress represent a sort of public negotiation, with Baumgartner's bill signaling a desire to federalize the entire system. Baumgartner believes the lack of progress is partly because few lawmakers have made college athletics a top priority, which he intends to do.

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