Power Five leagues turn to Congress
Commissioners want to get a law to pay college athletes
The Power Five conference commissioners are asking Congress to move forward with federal legislation regarding compensation for college athletes.
The commissioners of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference sent a letter dated May 23 to congressional leaders. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter Friday. Stadium, the online sports network, first reported on the letter. The letter was signed by John Swofford of the ACC, Bob Bowlsby of the Big 12, Kevin Warren of the Big Ten, Larry Scott of the Pac-12 and Greg Sankey of the SEC.
They encouraged federal lawmakers to not wait for the NCAA process to play out before passing a national law that would set parameters for college athletes to be compensated for use of their names, images and likenesses. Last month, the NCAA’s Board of Governors signed off on recommendations that would make it permissible for college athletes to make money for personal endorsements, appearances and sponsorship deals that are currently against the rules. The board acted after California passed a law clearing the way for athlete compensation that takes effect in 2023; other state laws are set to take effect earlier than that.
The NCAA hopes to have legislative proposals crafted by November and ready to be voted on in January. Even with that, NCAA leaders have acknowledged the need for congressional help and a national standard that would ward off a wave of state-level NIL laws that are in the pipeline. Some lawmakers are skeptical of the NCAA’s desire to place what it calls guardrails on a compensation model.
College sports leaders have been working for months to get their message to lawmakers about what they believe are the best solutions for athlete compensation, long a thorny issue for the NCAA and its model of amateurism.
The Power Five commissioners said the letter was to ensure lawmakers “hear directly from us, as any NIL changes will have the greatest impact upon the (autonomy) 5 conferences and our member institutions.”
The letter stressed guiding principles that echo what has come from the NCAA and other college sports leaders for months, including a ban on anything that resembles pay-for-play.
“First, those who participate in collegiate athletics are students, not employees. A critical aspect of the college model has been and remains that student-athletes are not paid for playing sports,” the commissioners wrote.
Hockey: USA Hockey president Jim Smith is the subject of two investigations surrounding his tenure as the president of Amateur Hockey Association Illinois. The Athletic first reported on the two investigations.
USA Hockey spokesman Dave Fischer confirmed Friday that the organization has hired an independent investigator to look into Smith’s business dealings with AHAI. Fischer also said the US Center for SafeSport is investigating allegations that Smith was aware of reported sexual misconduct by a coach and didn’t take action against him during Smith’s tenure with AHAI.
NASCAR: Chase Elliott’s streak of bitter defeats in NASCAR’s frantic first push of rescheduled races finally ended with his first Cup victory of the season. Elliott won Thursday night in the rain-delayed event at Charlotte Motor Speedway to close a brutal 12 days for NASCAR. The event, postponed Wednesday night, was the fourth Cup race since the series resumed racing May 17.
NBA: The NBA Board of Governors met again without a consensus opinion emerging on how many teams should be back on the floor for the planned late-July resumption of the pandemicinterrupted season, three people familiar with details of the call said Friday. The people, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Commissioner Adam Silver is still collecting information on multiple options ranging from 16 to 30 teams returning to action when the season begins again at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando, Florida.