SCORE Act Criticized for Favoring Wealthiest College Athletic Conferences

Strategic Insights -

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Representative Michael Baumgartner from Washington's 5th congressional district have expressed concerns about the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act, slated to be marked up by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade. They argue that the bill fails to protect the values that make college sports special, primarily benefiting the wealthiest programs, and leave athletes, coaches, and smaller institutions behind. The lawmakers urge the subcommittee to delay the markup until the bill's defects are fixed.

Key Takeaways:

  • The SCORE Act is criticized for entrenching the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) authority, which is becoming increasingly dominated by wealthier conferences.
  • The bill's formula for determining revenue shared with players favors wealthy schools, making it difficult for small and mid-sized schools to compete.
  • The Act ignores important national policies regarding college sports, including women's sports, the Olympic pipeline, and conference realignment.
  • The SCORE Act's framework needs to be improved, particularly regarding revenue sharing, athlete representation, and conference realignment.
  • Six key areas require attention: increasing revenue for small and mid-sized schools and women's and Olympic sports, giving college athletes a voice in policy-making, addressing the House v. NCAA settlement, budgetary concerns for small and mid-sized schools, health and safety protections, and establishing a commission on the future of college athletics.
  • The SCORE Act is viewed as a missed opportunity to deliver creative solutions for a sustainable future in college athletics beyond the wealthiest programs.

Statistics:

  • 22% of the average sports revenue of the 70 highest-revenue schools, estimated at $20.5 million, will be the maximum amount of revenue shared with players under the SCORE Act.
  • Only a few schools will be able to pay this full amount, exacerbating the loss of talent from smaller schools and turning them into "feeder" schools for the largest programs.
  • Conference realignment has changed the map of college sports, but the SCORE Act fails to address this issue and the challenge of sending college athletes coast-to-coast on a weekly basis.

Sources:

  • U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell
  • Representative Michael Baumgartner
  • Letter to subcommittee Chairman Gus Bilirakis and Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (available HERE)
  • Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act (H.R. 4312)
  • House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade
  • Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation