On Sept. 28th, the Protect College Sports Act was passed by the U.S. Senate in a sweeping win of 77-22, and is headed to the House of Representatives. The bill, introduced in June, will instate federal rule to help safeguard college athletes rights, regulate Name Image Likeness (NIL) compensation, retain fair competition, and stabilize the environment of college athletics. It attempts to create a semblance of control through the chaos that comes with collegiate level sports.
Senator from New Hampshire, Maggie Hassan, is in support of the act.
“Unfortunately, we have seen too many college athletes not benefit from their own success, or worse, see their plans for the future derailed by an injury,” said Hassan.
Holding the schools to a national standard supports students who decide to move from one school to another, no longer changing rules they were previously accustomed to.
The act prohibits schools and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) from blocking athletes' pay. There are guidelines for NIL; any deal over $600 needs to be reported to the school, the deals have to be real business deals and not through other universities or colleges to transfer or enroll, and NIL agents must register with a state and can only take up to 5% of an endorsement deal.
“Predatory agents cannot take advantage of student athletes and [the new NIL guideline] guarantees scholarships for 10 years so that students can finish their degrees regardless of what happens on the field,” said Hassan.
Professor Michael McCann is the Associate Dean for Academic Administration & Intellectual Life and Founding Director of the Sports and Entertainment Law Institute at UNH. He explains that the effects of the bill on UNH versus larger Division I (D1) schools is similar as it helps stabilize our rosters. However, the effects can largely differ when we look at other specific additions, such as the new retention pool of $22.5 million with an additional $5 million for women athletes and non-revenue sports. This adds to the existing revenue-sharing amount of $21.5 million adding up to $49 million.
“The vast majority of Division I schools, including UNH, seem unlikely to choose to spend anywhere near the max amount,” said McCann. “I imagine that spending discretion would primarily be used by power conference programs, such as colleges in the Southeastern Conference.”
One of the strongest protections towards athletes in the bill requires D1 schools to pay for sports-related medical costs for 5 years post eligibility. This applies to injury treatment, second opinions, and catastrophic injury insurance.
“Schools can make enormous profits from athletics programs, so it’s important that the student athletes who make these profits possible aren’t left behind,” said Hassan.
Many athletes can suffer when playing sports, possibly ending their career. Having this support from their university or college can help make sure they are still able to pursue a successful future.
Transfer rules now apply so that each athlete gets one free transfer without losing eligibility; after that, an athlete may have to sit out a year—unless extenuating circumstances apply. This rule aims to settle the constantly changing rosters and makes the system more predictable. Something similar has been applied to the coaches, wherein they can not participate in another team’s season before that team’s season has ended or their own prior team’s season has ended - whichever happens last.
Another part of the bill protects Olympic and non-revenue sports. It states that big schools must keep the same number of roster spots and scholarships for non-revenue sports as they had in 2024-2025. This rule lasts 9 years and is designed to stop cutting programs such as swimming, track, gymnastics, and more.
However, the topic of passing through the House brings up the question of whether it will run out of time before the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3rd. The amendments that have been proposed could also cause significant changes from what the Senate has passed.
When it comes to how this federal rulebook could change recruiting techniques, UNH may have to switch tactics but not necessarily because of the bill passing.
Professor McCann explained that whether or not the bill passes, recruiting strategies have always, and will always, continue to evolve. Not to mention as more high school athletes earn NILs, “the more conversant and knowledgeable recruiters are about NIL, the more they would have a leg up over competition.” The University of New Hampshire must continue to adapt to our changing media based world. New NIL rules may also change how athletes are persuaded to choose a school, with all funding and coercion from private parties being better monitored.
Whether or not the bill passes, there are some major issues brought up that each university may decide to address. UNH may decide to adjust the budget, monitoring NILs, or taking on medical coverage from the passing of the bill, or because they believe in the changes that were proposed.
