[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2731 Introduced in House (IH)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2731
To amend section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide
increased accountability of nonprofit athletic associations and to
establish a commission to identify and examine issues of national
concern related to the conduct of intercollegiate athletics, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 11, 2015
Mr. Dent (for himself, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Rush, Mr. Katko, Mr. Curbelo of
Florida, and Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide
increased accountability of nonprofit athletic associations and to
establish a commission to identify and examine issues of national
concern related to the conduct of intercollegiate athletics, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``National
Collegiate Athletics Accountability Act'', or the ``NCAA Act''.
(b) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
(1) Nationwide, institutions of higher education receive
approximately $150,000,000,000 to $200,000,000,000 in funding
under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1070 et seq.) annually, including approximately $20,000,000,000
to $30,000,000,000 in Federal Pell Grants.
(2) In fiscal year 2014, institutions of higher education
are projected to receive approximately $140,000,000,000 in
Federal student aid under title IV of such Act, which accounts
for 77 percent of all funding received by these institutions
from the Federal Government.
(3) Funding under title IV of such Act is used to provide
grants, loans, and work-study funds from the Federal Government
to eligible students enrolled in institution of higher
education, including career schools.
(4) Many institutions of higher education participate in
voluntary, nonprofit athletic associations and athletic
conferences, with the largest such association having over
1,000 member institutions of higher education with more than
430,000 students participating in athletics, and providing
approximately $523,000,000 in revenue sharing to such members.
(5) Athletic programs at institutions of higher education
are some of the largest revenue generators for such
institutions nationwide, accounting for approximately
$6,100,000,000 in revenue from ticket sales, radio and
television receipts, alumni contributions, guarantees,
royalties, and association distributions.
(6) The Committee on Sports Medicine of the American
Academy of Pediatrics published a classification of sports
based on the likelihood of contact, impact, or injury, and
determined that--
(A) boxing, field hockey, football, ice hockey,
lacrosse, martial arts, rodeo, soccer, and wrestling
are contact/collision sports; and
(B) baseball, basketball, bicycling, diving, high
jump, pole vault, gymnastics, horseback riding, ice
skating, roller skating, cross-country skiing, downhill
skiing, water skiing, softball, squash, handball, and
volleyball are limited-contact/impact sports.
SEC. 2. PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS.
Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(30) In the case of an institution that has an
intercollegiate athletic program, the institution will not be a
member of a nonprofit athletic association unless such
association--
``(A) requires annual baseline concussion testing
of each student athlete on the active roster of each
team participating in a contact/collision sport or a
limited-contact/impact sport (based on the most recent
classification of sports published by the Committee on
Sports Medicine of the American Academy of Pediatrics)
before such student athlete may participate in any
contact drills or activities;
``(B) prior to enforcing any remedy for an alleged
infraction or violation of the policies of such
association--
``(i) provides institutions and student
athletes with the opportunity for a formal
administrative hearing, not less than one
appeal, and any other due process procedure the
Secretary determines by regulation to be
necessary; and
``(ii) hold in abeyance any such remedy
until all appeals have been exhausted or until
the deadline to appeal has passed, whichever is
sooner;
``(C) with respect to institutions attended by
students receiving athletically related student aid (as
defined in section 485(e)), requires any such
athletically related student aid provided to student
athletes who play a contact/collision sport (based on
the most recent classification of sports published by
the Committee on Sports Medicine of the American
Academy of Pediatrics) to be--
``(i) guaranteed for the duration of the
student athlete's attendance at the
institution, up to 4 years; and
``(ii) irrevocable for reasons related to
athletic skill or injury of the student
athlete; and
``(D) does not have in place a policy that
prohibits institutions from paying stipends to student
athletes.''.
SEC. 3. PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS.
(a) Establishment.--There is established a commission to be known
as the Presidential Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.
(b) Duties.--
(1) Review.--The Commission shall review and analyze the
following issues related to intercollegiate athletics:
(A) The interaction of athletics and academics,
including--
(i) the extent to which existing athletic
practices allow student athletes to succeed as
both students and athletes;
(ii) how athletics affect the academic
mission, academic integrity, and credit
worthiness of institutions of higher education;
(iii) graduation rates of student athletes;
and
(iv) standards of academic eligibility for
participation in and terms of scholarships for
student athletes.
(B) The financing of intercollegiate athletics,
including--
(i) sources of revenue, including student
fees, media contracts, and licensing
agreements;
(ii) expenditures of revenue, including
compliance with title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972, coaching salaries, and
facilities development;
(iii) the ability of institutions of higher
education to finance intercollegiate athletics;
(iv) the financial transparency of
intercollegiate athletics;
(v) the criteria for receipt of financial
disbursements or rewards from athletic
membership associations;
(vi) rules related to earnings and benefits
by student athletes, including the possibility
of commercial compensation for the use of the
names, images, and likenesses of student
athletes and whether a student athlete may
retain a personal representative to negotiate
on behalf of the student athlete;
(vii) tax regulations related to revenue
from intercollegiate athletics; and
(viii) Federal judicial decisions that
affect compensation for student athletes or the
right of student athletes to organize as a
collective bargaining unit.
(C) Recruitment and retention of student athletes,
including rules related to--
(i) professional sports participation;
(ii) transfer of student athletes to other
institutions; and
(iii) recruitment and representations made
to potential student athletes.
(D) Oversight and governance practices.
(E) Health and safety protections for student
athletes.
(F) Due process and equal enforcement related to
rules and regulations for student athletes.
(G) Any other issues the Commission considers
relevant to understanding the state of intercollegiate
athletics.
(2) Recommendations.--The Commission shall develop
recommendations regarding the issues identified in paragraph
(1) based on the review and analysis of the issues under such
paragraph.
(c) Membership.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall be composed of 17
members appointed as follows:
(A) Five members appointed by the President, in
consultation with the Secretary of Education and the
Attorney General.
(B) Three members appointed by the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, including--
(i) one Member of the House of
Representatives; and
(ii) two individuals who are not Members of
Congress.
(C) Three members appointed by the minority leader
of the House of Representatives, including--
(i) one Member of the House of
Representatives; and
(ii) two individuals who are not Members of
Congress.
(D) Three members appointed by the majority leader
of the Senate, including--
(i) one Member of the Senate; and
(ii) two individuals who are not Members of
Congress.
(E) Three members appointed by the minority leader
of the Senate, including--
(i) one Member of the Senate; and
(ii) two individuals who are not Members of
Congress.
(2) Qualifications.--Appointments shall be made from
individuals who are specially qualified to serve on the
Commission by virtue of their education, training, or
experience.
(3) Vacancy.--Any vacancy on the Commission shall not
affect the powers of the Commission, but shall be filled in the
manner in which the original appointment was made.
(4) Chair.--The Chair of the Commission shall be elected by
the members.
(5) Reimbursement; service without pay.--Members of the
Commission shall serve without pay, except members of the
Commission shall be entitled to reimbursement for travel,
subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in
carrying out the functions of the Commission, in the same
manner as persons employed intermittently by the Federal
Government are allowed expenses under section 5703 of title 5,
United States Code.
(d) Staff.--The Commission may appoint and fix the compensation of
a staff director and such other personnel as may be necessary to enable
the Commission to carry out its functions, without regard to the
provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in
the competitive service, and without regard to the provisions of
chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to
classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that no rate of
pay fixed under this paragraph may exceed the equivalent of that
payable for a position at level V of the Executive Schedule under
section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.
(e) Meetings.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall meet at the call of
the Chair or of a majority of its members.
(2) First meeting.--The first such meeting shall occur not
later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(f) Powers.--
(1) In general.--The Commission may, for the purpose of
carrying out this section, hold hearings, sit and act at times
and places, take testimony, and receive evidence as the
Commission considers appropriate.
(2) Delegation.--Any member or agent of the Commission may,
if authorized by the Commission, take any action which the
Commission is authorized to take by this subsection.
(3) Access to information.--The Commission may secure
directly from any department or agency of the United States
information necessary to enable it to carry out this section.
Upon request of the Commission, the head of such department or
agency shall furnish such information to the Commission.
(4) Use of mails.--The Commission may use the United States
mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as other
departments and agencies of the United States.
(5) Administrative support.--The Administrator of General
Services shall provide to the Commission on a reimbursable
basis such administrative support services as the Commission
may request that are necessary for the Commission to carry out
its responsibilities under this section.
(g) Report.--Not later than the date that is 1 year after the date
of the first meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall submit to
the President and the Congress a written report of its findings and
recommendations based on the review and analysis required by subsection
(b).
(h) Termination.--The Commission shall terminate on the date that
is 30 days after the date on which the Commission submits the report
required by subsection (g).
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the
Presidential Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics
established by subsection (a).
(2) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' means any institution
that--
(A) meets the definition in section 102(a)(1) of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1002(a)(1)); and
(B) has student athletes who are eligible for
Federal student loans.
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