September 15, 2025
With college football and fall sports back, I am reminded of what a special time of the year it is for student-athletes who have sacrificed so much for this moment, and classmates, alumni and fans who passionately cheer them on. Stadiums spread across every community in the nation are filled with excitement, providing hope for students and creating an economic boom for large and small college towns. Sadly, behind the scenes, the system is broken with these programs facing a historic financial strain that has led to cutting women’s and Olympic sports just for athletics departments to stay in business ... but this is just the beginning of a downward spiral that will lead to the destruction of college sports.
As Congress returns from August recess, it has a historic opportunity to end this strain and put the system back together. Currently, the U.S. House of Representatives is fast-tracking a very narrow bill, via the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act. The SCORE Act is a good starting point for some of the key elements of the discussion, and it is encouraging that this issue is finally gaining traction in Washington. However, as the the legislation is currently drafted, it does not achieve President Trump’s clearly-stated objectives of saving women’s sports, protecting Olympic sports, and looking out for the interests of smaller schools. The President, and the American public (over 85% of them, as shown in recent polling) feel strongly that ALL of college sports and ALL of the schools continue to provide opportunity to the 500,000 student athletes that they do today.