WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper announced his support for the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, which would establish nationwide standards for name, image, and likeness (NIL), transfers, eligibility, and enforcement.
“This bill is a much-needed step forward to protect the Olympic athletes who represent our country on the world stage while giving Colorado’s universities the stability they need to keep competing across all sports,” said Hickenlooper. “We fought to protect the sports that too often get left behind and preserve opportunities for student-athletes as college athletics become more commercialized. We urge the Senate to pass this bill soon to create a more stable collegiate sports system.”
Specifically, the bill would:
- Create an enforceable transfer framework, allowing one free undergrad transfer, while creating restrictions on unscrupulous agents.
- Create uniform eligibility standards.
- Provide enforceable recruiting and tampering rules that limit, if or when, an agent or school can recruit or contact a student athlete.
- Protect Olympic and non-revenue sports by preserving scholarship and roster opportunities at Division I schools.
The Protect College Sports Act has the backing of 28 collegiate athletic conferences, more than 370 colleges and universities across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., historically black colleges and universities, hundreds of thousands of student athletes.
Hickenlooper voted to advance the bill out of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee after helping secure a key endorsement for it: the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Full text of the bill is available HERE.
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