Key Takeaways from the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust Hearing “Antitrust Law and the NCAA: Examining the Current Climate”
March 12, 2025
Witnesses: Caryl Smith Gilbert, Director of Men's and Women's Track and Field, University of Georgia; Chris McIntosh, Director of Athletics, University of Wisconsin; Arthur Albiero, Head Coach, Head Coach of Swimming and Diving, University of Louisville; and Andrew Cooper, Executive Director, United College Athletes Association
The Value of College Athletics
Chris McIntosh, Director of Athletics, University of Wisconsin:
“Our college athletics system – this American system, the tethering of sports and education – is truly unique…it's a system where athletes not only compete at the top level of sports but also receive a valuable education for the rest of their lives."
Subcommittee Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (D-NY-12):
“College sports have brought many non-financial benefits to athletes – life lessons about teamwork, building a strong work ethic, building leadership skills, and promoting health and wellness.”
The Current State of College Sports
Subcommittee Chairman Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI-5):
“College sports is rapidly heading in the direction of unlimited payments, unlimited transfer, and no rules around who’s eligible to compete.”
“College sports has largely lost any resemblance of the amateur sports they used to be or the collegiate spirit…the educational mission of college athletics has been eroded.”
“The inability of the NCAA to set rules has turned college athletics into what would be called by some a semi-professional endeavor focused more and more on men’s football and basketball.”
Congresswoman Harriet Hageman (R-WY-AL):
“As for negative changes, you have identified those to the transfer portal, which allows athletes to now transfer every year and face no ineligibility. Changes such as those are of great concern to me, representing a less populated state with smaller schools in Wyoming.”
“Coming from a state like Wyoming, where we don't have professional sports. Our only sports are the University of Wyoming, and it's incredibly important to the people of Wyoming that we maintain a competitive basketball team, football team, but we also have wrestling…I can see where we would recruit someone to be the cornerstone of a team, only to have that person lured away by another school, which would essentially, or could essentially, destroy the entire program, at least for that year, if not for a longer period of time. I think that that is a very significant issue that does need to be addressed.”
Chris McIntosh, Director of Athletics, University of Wisconsin:
“The combination of third party NIL and permissibility of unlimited transfers put our coaches in a really tough position…It’s created instability which I think is not fair to teammates on those teams and in short has put us in an extremely unstable environment.”
Impact on Non-Revenue and Olympic Sports
Caryl Smith Gilbert, Director of Men's and Women's Track and Field, University of Georgia:
“Track and field and other non-revenue sports are at risk. The current NIL environment without a clear uniform national standard threatens scholarships, undermines roster stability, and creates uncertainty.”
“My personal fear is that without regulation, all money would be spent on football, and the impact on non-revenue and Olympic sports would be devastating.”
Arthur Albiero, Head Coach, Head Coach of Swimming and Diving, University of Louisville:
“It’s crucial that any action by Congress recognizes the unique challenges faced by non-revenue sports.”
“I would ask that any Congressional support also offer protections for the 78% of student-athletes who do not compete in football and basketball.”
Chris McIntosh, Director of Athletics, University of Wisconsin:
“We don’t have any desire to drop any Olympic sport. We have no desire to cut an Olympic sport. We have a desire to enhance the tradition that already exists within our Olympic sports…I think there are ways in which we can ensure that Olympic sports thrive within the house settlement at the University of Wisconsin.”
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH-4):
“We’ve had the USSD to talk with us, we’ve had the Women’s Volleyball Association, the Wrestling Coaches Association – all are very concerned about what happens if we don’t do something about the non-revenues sports that are part of the Olympic training ground.”
Congress Must Act to Set a National Standard
Chris McIntosh, Director of Athletics, University of Wisconsin:
“It is critical now more than ever that Congress work together to pass meaningful legislation that stabilizes college athletics for future generations. We need your help to enhance this model of opportunity for all sports.”
“We need help from Congress to be able to create common sense rules that would allow student athletes to transfer for the right reasons but also preserve their academic progress.”
“We [must] ensure consistency across the country, avoiding the state by state patchwork of law intended to create a competitive advantage for in-state programs.”
Congressman Michael Baumgartner (R-WA-5):
“I believe the current model is too broken. If this Congress does not do something to step forward to save Olympic sports, then my kids and your kids will not have those opportunities…This has to get fixed in this Congress.”
Educational Identity of College Sports
Caryl Smith Gilbert, Director of Men's and Women's Track and Field, University of Georgia:
“The student athletes I coach are not just competitors; they are students pursuing an education and an opportunity beyond sports. For most, scholarships are the only way they can obtain a college degree.”
“The main thing that concerns me is they’re having more trouble being in majors that they actually want to be in, because when they transfer, they lose a lot of credits from one school to the next. I do think they should be able to go and transfer wherever they want, but I think the unlimited transfers have caused problems with academic progress. As I said earlier, getting a degree is the main thing.”
Congresswoman Harriet Hageman (R-WY-AL):
“I would assume it's a very small percentage of people who actually go on to make this a career, to become professional athletes. So providing that education, I think, is highly important.”
“I think one of the things that we've always done when we look at school, at college athletics, is this gives students an opportunity to be part of a team after high school, to be part of a track of the field team, to be part of a swim team, to have that that that experience, while at the same time going to college and getting the degree that is so necessary for their long term well being.”
House v. NCAA Settlement
Chris McIntosh, Director of Athletics, University of Wisconsin:
“I believe we owe it to our student athletes to ensure they can enjoy the benefits of the pending House settlement.”
Student-Athletes, Not Employees
Arthur Albiero, Head Coach, Head Coach of Swimming and Diving, University of Louisville:
“[Classifying student-athletes as employees] could create a number of undesirable and unintended consequences, including taxation, changes to medical services, and opportunities in general for non-revenue sports. The required financial, administrative burden of treating student athletes as employees could force institutions to make even more difficult decisions about how many sports institutions are able to offer.”
Caryl Smith Gilbert, Director of Men's and Women's Track and Field, University of Georgia:
“I think if you make student-athletes an employment model, then it changes the relationship between the coach and the athlete, and athletes should not be put under the pressure of being employees at such a young age.”
“Implementing an employment model would be devastating for non-revenue sports…As employees, they would have to be responsible for many expenses [we already cover].”
Chris McIntosh, Director of Athletics, University of Wisconsin:
“My student-athletes are not asking to be employees…[employment status] raises issues of competitive equity and fairness that are pretty dire.”
“[Employment status] puts tremendous pressure on our budget. I’m trying to envision our HR department posting 800 positions. It seems impractical.”
Congressman Russell Fry (R-SC-7):
“We resoundingly heard from student athletes [in recent hearings] that they do not want to be employees.”