Congress Must Protect the Core Identity of College Sports
Last year’s Paris Summer Olympics put a spotlight on the impact of college sports in America. Current and former NCAA athletes earned over 300 medals, and about a third came from our Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) schools. But the most notable fact? The vast majority of these competitors played sports that don’t generate revenue for their schools. Their success underscores college athletics’ unique model, which allows athletes to excel in their sport, develop important life skills, compete at the highest levels, and earn a degree – in short, to prepare them to be future family, business, and civic leaders.
Unfortunately, college sports’ academic and cultural identity faces a growing threat. As student-athletes at Wake Forest and Florida State, we worry that the call to classify us as employees of our institutions will eliminate the life-changing opportunities we’ve been afforded thanks to college sports.
Supporters of the employee model ignore its legal and economic consequences for student-athletes. Currently, benefits like housing, meals, medical care, and travel are offered to us athletes tax-free. In addition, the bulk of an athletic scholarship is not treated as taxable income. Changing this arrangement overnight could create a financial nightmare with new tax bills and the potential elimination of benefits that athletes rely on.
Consider other harmful implications if playing college sports suddenly becomes a job. It is easy to forget that we are talking about 18–23-year-old young people balancing academic and athletic commitments and, in most cases, being away from home for the first time. This is very different than the professional model and we worry that forcing us into an employee-employer situation will create additional mental stress that is unnecessary.
And what about the prospect of collective bargaining and union rights? In addition to the challenge of navigating varying state labor laws and differences between public and private schools, in the ACC, like in most, if not all, conferences, student-athletes have a voice in policy and championships discussions through their institutional student-athlete advisory committee (SAAC) and conference-wide sport-specific advisory groups. These groups discuss policy issues on the table for league administrators and provide the student-athlete perspective. For example, the ACC has current policy requirements for each school related to mental health education and resources that were designed by the ACC SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee).
As co-chairs of the ACC’s SAAC, we constantly hear from student-athletes about how much they value their relationships with coaches and athletic directors. The idea that they could take on new responsibilities as part-time work supervisors or HR representatives baffles us. Coaches often serve as our best mentors and role models, and changing this dynamic would ultimately reduce the focus on academics and undermine why we enrolled in college.
Ultimately, Congress alone can prevent this employment model madness while providing clarity on issues related to name, image, and likeness (NIL). In recent years, student-athletes have been able to grow their personal brands and capitalize on their NIL. We want this to continue; and we want every student-athlete to have the same opportunity, regardless of where they go to school. Among the many bills introduced in recent months, the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act is the only legislation that preempts student-athletes nationwide from being classified as students and creates fair and nationwide rules on NIL. This bill also guarantees an investment in student-athletes’ health and well-being through scholarship protections, medical care guarantees, and mental health resources.
Congress no longer has a valid excuse for inaction or delay. The SCORE Act has passed through several committees, received supportive testimonies from student-athletes like us, and gained support from lawmakers of both parties. For all the reasons above, we are asking to maintain our status as students and block any attempt to turn us into employees. Making this bill law will protect college sports’ role as a distinctly American institution and maintain the educational mission of college sports for future generations.
