I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5528 

To establish a Congressional Advisory Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics 

to investigate the relationship between institutions of higher education 

and intercollegiate athletic programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 19, 2019 

Ms. SHALALA (for herself and Mr. SPANO) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To establish a Congressional Advisory Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics to investigate the relationship between 

institutions of higher education and intercollegiate athletic programs, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congressional Advisory 

5 Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Act of 2019’’ or 

6 the ‘‘CACIA Act of 2019’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows: 

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1 (1) Under title IV of the Higher Education Act 

2 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), in 2017–2018 in3 stitutions of higher education received funds in ex4 cess of $184.1 billion for Federal student support, 

5 including approximately $28.2 billion in Federal Pell 

6 Grants and over $40 billion in research grants. 

7 (2) Under title IV of the Higher Education Act 

8 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), in fiscal year 

9 2019 approximately $130.4 billion of Federal stu10 dent support was available for higher education, in11 cluding over $29 billion in Federal Pell Grants. 

12 (3) Many institutions of higher education volun13 tarily participate in athletic governance associations. 

14 (4) The largest athletic governance association 

15 includes over 1,100 institutions of higher education 

16 and more than 430,000 student athletes. This asso17 ciation generates over $1 billion annually and in 

18 2017–2018 it provided $609,000,000 in revenue 

19 sharing to Division 1 member institutions of higher 

20 education. 

21 (5) In 2018, intercollegiate athletic programs 

22 generated approximately $14 billion in revenue from 

23 ticket sales, radio and television receipts, alumni 

24 contributions, guarantees, royalties, and athletic gov25 ernance associations. This is a 226-percent increase 

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1 from 2003 when the revenue generated by such in2 stitutions was approximately $4 billion. 

3 (6) Most institutions of higher education are 

4 tax-exempt organizations whose donors benefit from 

5 tax-exempt contributions, including contributions re6 stricted by donors to support intercollegiate athletic 

7 programs. 

8 (7) Most intercollegiate athletic programs are 

9 heavily subsidized by the institution of higher edu10 cation that they represent, including support 

11 through institutional general funds, mandatory stu12 dent fees, and athletic capital projects that benefit 

13 from tax-exempt bonds. 

14 (8) The highest paid public employee in 41 out 

15 of 50 States is a head coach of an intercollegiate 

16 athletic program. 

17 (9) Many intercollegiate athletics programs 

18 have built lavish locker rooms, practice facilities, 

19 competition facilities, and other facilities to entice 

20 talented high school student athletes to attend the 

21 institution of higher education, even though access 

22 to such facilities are restricted from use by non-stu23 dent athletes. 

24 (10) Serious questions have arisen regarding 

25 whether institutions of higher education with highly 

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1 commercialized intercollegiate athletic programs fol2 low academic standards in admitting student ath3 letes, have adequate faculty oversight to ensure that 

4 student athletes are provided a quality education, 

5 have encouraged student athletes to consider the 

6 long-term consequences of athletic related injuries, 

7 provided student athletes access to comprehensive 

8 healthcare programs, and ensure that student ath9 letes have the same academic and employment op10 portunities as non-student athletes attending the in11 stitution of higher education. 

12 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL ADVISORY COMMISSION ON 

13 INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com15 mission to be known as the ‘‘Congressional Advisory Com16 mission on Intercollegiate Athletics’’ (in this Act referred 

17 to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

18 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of the Commission shall be 

19 to investigate and review the relationship between institu20 tions of higher education and intercollegiate athletic pro21 grams, including a review of— 

22 (1) the policies maintained by athletic govern23 ance associations and institutions of higher edu24 cation with respect to ensuring that student athletes 

25 can succeed in academics and athletics; 

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1 (2) the impact of policies identified under para2 graph (1) on— 

3 (A) the education of undergraduate stu4 dent athletes, as measured by Federal gradua5 tion rates, compared to undergraduate non-stu6 dent athletes as a whole and disaggregated by 

7 gender, race, sport, transfer rates, and competi8 tion level; 

9 (B) the ability of student athletes to select 

10 academic courses and a major; and 

11 (C) the ability of student athletes to trans12 fer, without a residency requirement, to other 

13 institutions of higher education; 

14 (3) the impact of intercollegiate athletic pro15 grams on the— 

16 (A) academic mission of institutions of 

17 higher education; and 

18 (B) academic integrity of institutions of 

19 higher education, including— 

20 (i) whether academic support pro21 grams are provided for student athletes by 

22 an athletic department or academic office 

23 at institutions of higher education; 

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1 (ii) a comparison between the percent2 age student athletes and percentage of 

3 non-student athletes who are— 

4 (I) taking independent studies 

5 classes; or 

6 (II) taking online courses; 

7 (iii) whether institutions of higher 

8 education conduct transparent and regular 

9 reviews of student athlete academic data; 

10 and 

11 (iv) whether tenured faculty conduct 

12 oversight of intercollegiate athletic pro13 grams with respect to student athlete aca14 demic achievement, including whether stu15 dent athletes has adequate time to prepare 

16 for and attend class; 

17 (4) how the academic eligibility standards re18 quired by athletic governance associations impact— 

19 (A) athletic scholarships offered to student 

20 athletes; and 

21 (B) the renewal of athletic scholarships of22 fered to student athletes; 

23 (5) how institutions of higher education finance 

24 intercollegiate athletic programs, disaggregated by 

25 competition level, including— 

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1 (A) the general measures taken by institu2 tions of higher education to finance intercolle3 giate athletic programs; 

4 (B) whether student fees are used to fi5 nance intercollegiate athletic programs; 

6 (C) whether general funds are used to fi7 nance intercollegiate athletic programs; 

8 (D) whether institutions of higher edu9 cation receive funds and the amount of such 

10 funds from— 

11 (i) media contracts held by institu12 tions of higher education with respect to 

13 intercollegiate athletic programs; 

14 (ii) licensing agreements held by insti15 tutions of higher education with respect to 

16 intercollegiate athletic programs; and 

17 (iii) media conferences and other dis18 tributions held by an athletic governance 

19 association; 

20 (E) the amount of funds expended on 

21 coaching salaries and facilities development for 

22 intercollegiate athletic programs, disaggregated 

23 by gender, race, sport, and competition level; 

24 and 

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1 (F) policies held by athletic governance as2 sociations with respect to the amount expended 

3 by institutions of higher education and the 

4 number of athletic participation opportunities 

5 provided by institutions of higher education to 

6 comply with— 

7 (i) title IX of the Education Amend8 ments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), 

9 including— 

10 (I) the percent of athletic partici11 pation opportunities offered to female 

12 and male student athletes in compari13 son to the enrollment of female and 

14 male non-student athletes, respec15 tively, at institutions of higher edu16 cation; and 

17 (II) the percent of total athletic 

18 scholarship funds offered to female 

19 and male student athletes, respec20 tively; and 

21 (ii) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

22 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), including— 

23 (I) the percent of athletic partici24 pation opportunities for students with 

25 disabilities compared to enrollment of 

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1 non-student athletes with disabilities 

2 at institutions of higher education; 

3 and 

4 (II) the percent of total athletic 

5 scholarship funds provided to student 

6 athletes with disabilities; 

7 (6) whether athletic governance associations re8 quire or encourage institutions of higher education 

9 to be transparent in academic and financial matters 

10 with respect to intercollegiate athletic programs, in11 cluding whether such institutions provide access to 

12 relevant data for independent research or inclusion 

13 in public reporting requirements; 

14 (7) the interaction between athletic governance 

15 associations and institutions of higher education, 

16 with respect to— 

17 (A) criteria for institutions of higher edu18 cation to receive financial support from an ath19 letic governance association; 

20 (B) criteria for institutions of higher edu21 cation to participate in a post-season champion22 ship competition; 

23 (C) the policies related to— 

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1 (i) whether criteria established under 

2 subparagraphs (A) and (B) comply with 

3 Federal law; 

4 (ii) the award, renewal, or withdrawal 

5 of athletic scholarship funds, including— 

6 (I) multi-year financial aid 

7 awards; 

8 (II) whether cost of attendance is 

9 considered during the renewal or with10 drawal of an athletic scholarship; 

11 (III) whether awards of athletic 

12 scholarships are equally available to 

13 male and female student athletes; and 

14 (IV) whether gender neutral 

15 methods are used to determine eligi16 bility for an athletic scholarship; 

17 (iii) the award, renewal, and with18 drawal of summer school financial assist19 ance for student athletes, including— 

20 (I) whether awards of summer 

21 school financial assistance are equally 

22 available to male and female student 

23 athletes; and 

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1 (II) whether gender neutral 

2 methods are used to determine eligi3 bility for such assistance; and 

4 (iv) employment, earnings and bene5 fits, and personal representation by mar6 keting agents of student athletes, including 

7 commercial compensation for the use of 

8 the name, image, or likeness of student 

9 athletes by themselves or institutions of 

10 higher education attended by such athlete; 

11 (8) policies held by institutions of higher edu12 cation with respect to recruitment and retention of 

13 student athletes, including— 

14 (A) policies governing the recruitment 

15 process of student athletes, including policies 

16 with respect to letters of intent; 

17 (B) policies governing individuals allowed 

18 to recruit prospective student athletes; 

19 (C) policies governing the transfer and 

20 dropout rate of student athletes; 

21 (D) the impact of the policies identified in 

22 subparagraphs (A) through (C) on prospective 

23 student athletes; and 

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1 (E) the contractual terms of an athletic 

2 scholarship with respect to the ability of stu3 dent athletes to— 

4 (i) transfer to different institutions of 

5 higher education; and 

6 (ii) participate in professional sports; 

7 (9) oversight and guidance provided by athletic 

8 governance associations on— 

9 (A) academic support programs only avail10 able to student athletes, including tutoring and 

11 academic advising services; and 

12 (B) policies on the professional and ethical 

13 conduct of coaches and staff associated with 

14 student athletes; 

15 (10) policies held by intercollegiate athletic pro16 grams that encourage diverse leadership of such pro17 grams; 

18 (11) policies on the health and safety of student 

19 athletes, including the impact of— 

20 (A) medical policies implemented by ath21 letic governance associations, disaggregated by 

22 gender, race, sport, and competition level; 

23 (B) policies implemented by an intercolle24 giate athletic program to minimize the risk of 

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1 injury to student athletes, disaggregated by 

2 gender, race, sport and competition level; and 

3 (C) the provision of adequate athletic in4 jury insurance and medical services, including 

5 the extent to which such insurance coverage is 

6 provided beyond the exhaustion of athletic eligi7 bility, disaggregated by competition level; 

8 (12) whether athletic governance associations 

9 maintain a mechanism for addressing complaints 

10 that ensures due process protections for an indi11 vidual accused and is equally enforced with respect 

12 to— 

13 (A) all student athletes, institutional em14 ployees, and representatives; 

15 (B) student athletes accused of violence, 

16 sexual abuse, sexual harassment, or criminal 

17 conduct; 

18 (C) the professional and ethical conduct of 

19 coaches, athletic trainers, and other athletic de20 partment student development personnel; and 

21 (D) student athletes or faculty and staff of 

22 institutions of higher education involved in aca23 demic fraud; 

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1 (13) the impact of the Internal Revenue Code 

2 of 1986 on revenue generated by intercollegiate ath3 letic programs; 

4 (14) the impact of Federal and State judicial 

5 decisions that affect— 

6 (A) compensation for student athletes; or 

7 (B) the right of student athletes to receive 

8 workplace protections; and 

9 (15) any other issue the Commission considers 

10 relevant to understanding the relationship between 

11 intercollegiate athletic programs and institutions of 

12 higher education. 

13 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

14 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Com15 mission shall be composed of 17 members appointed 

16 as follows: 

17 (A) Four members appointed by the 

18 Speaker of the House of Representatives, in19 cluding— 

20 (i) one Member of the House of Rep21 resentatives; and 

22 (ii) three individuals who are not 

23 Members of Congress. 

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1 (B) Four members appointed by the mi2 nority leader of the House of Representatives, 

3 including— 

4 (i) one Member of the House of Rep5 resentatives; and 

6 (ii) three individuals who are not 

7 Members of Congress. 

8 (C) Four members appointed by the major9 ity leader of the Senate, including— 

10 (i) one Member of the Senate; and 

11 (ii) three individuals who are not 

12 Members of Congress. 

13 (D) Four members appointed by the mi14 nority leader of the Senate, including— 

15 (i) one Member of the Senate; and 

16 (ii) three individuals who are not 

17 Members of Congress. 

18 (E) One member appointed by the Sec19 retary of Education. 

20 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Individuals appointed 

22 under paragraph (1) shall be specially qualified 

23 to serve on the Commission by virtue of their 

24 education or experience on issues related to 

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1 intercollegiate athletic programs, higher edu2 cation, and civil rights. 

3 (B) COORDINATION TO ENSURE DIVER4 SITY.—Individuals appointed under paragraph 

5 (1) shall be coordinated to ensure diversity. 

6 (3) CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION.—The Chair of 

7 the Commission shall be elected by a majority of the 

8 members of the Commission. 

9 (4) CONTINUATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—If a 

10 member was appointed to the Commission as a 

11 Member of Congress, that member may continue to 

12 serve on the Commission. 

13 (5) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed 

14 for the term of the Commission. 

15 (6) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission 

16 shall be filled in the manner in which the original 

17 appointment was made. 

18 (7) BASIC PAY.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

20 subparagraph (B), members of the Commission 

21 shall serve without pay. 

22 (B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—In carrying out 

23 the duties of the Commission, each member of 

24 the Commission shall receive travel expenses, 

25 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, and 

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1 other necessary expenses in accordance with ap2 plicable provisions under subchapter I of chap3 ter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

4 (d) MEETINGS.—Beginning not later than 90 days 

5 after the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall meet 

6 at the call of the Chair or a majority of its members. 

7 (e) DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF COMMISSION.— 

8 (1) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a 

9 Director, appointed by the Chair of the Commission. 

10 (2) STAFF.—The Commission may appoint and 

11 fix the pay of personnel as necessary to carry out 

12 the duties of this Act. 

13 (3) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

14 LAWS.—The Director and staff of the Commission 

15 shall be appointed without regard to the provisions 

16 of title 5, United States Code, governing appoint17 ments in the competitive service, and without regard 

18 to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 

19 of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification 

20 and General Schedules pay rates, except that no rate 

21 of pay fixed under this paragraph may exceed the 

22 equivalent of that payable for a position at level V 

23 of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 

24 5, United States Code. 

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1 (4) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon re2 quest of the Commission, the head of any Federal 

3 department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable 

4 basis, any of the personnel of that department or 

5 agency to the Commission to assist it in carrying out 

6 its duties under this Act. 

7 (f) USE OF MAILS.—The Commission may use the 

8 United States mails in the same manner and under the 

9 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the 

10 United States. 

11 (g) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—Upon the request 

12 of the Commission, the Administrator of General Services 

13 shall provide to the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, 

14 the administrative support services necessary for the Com15 mission to carry out its responsibilities under this Act. 

16 (h) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

17 (1) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commis18 sion may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, 

19 hold hearings, sit and act at times and places, take 

20 testimony, and receive evidence as the Commission 

21 considers appropriate. 

22 (2) SUBPOENA POWER.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

24 issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and 

25 testimony of witnesses and the production of 

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1 any evidence relating to any matter under in2 vestigation by the Commission. The attendance 

3 of witnesses and the production of evidence may 

4 be required from any place within the United 

5 States at any designated place of hearing within 

6 the United States. 

7 (B) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a 

8 person refuses to obey a subpoena issued under 

9 subparagraph (A), the Commission may apply 

10 to a United States district court for an order 

11 requiring that person to appear before the Com12 mission to give testimony, produce evidence, or 

13 both, relating to the matter under investigation. 

14 The application may be made within the judicial 

15 district where the hearing is conducted or where 

16 that person is found, resides, or transacts busi17 ness. Any failure to obey the order of the court 

18 may be punished by the court as civil contempt. 

19 (C) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The sub20 poenas of the Commission shall be served in the 

21 manner provided for subpoenas issued by a 

22 United States district court under the Federal 

23 Rules of Civil Procedure for the United States 

24 district courts. 

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1 (D) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of 

2 any court to which application is made under 

3 paragraph (2) may be served in the judicial dis4 trict in which the person required to be served 

5 resides or may be found. 

6 (3) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any 

7 member or agent of the Commission may, if author8 ized by the Commission, take any action which the 

9 Commission is authorized to take by this subsection. 

10 (4) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—To the extent or in the 

12 amounts provided in advance in appropriation 

13 Acts, the Commission may enter into contracts 

14 with and compensate government and private 

15 entities or persons for the purpose of con16 ducting research or surveys necessary for the 

17 Commission to carry out its duties under this 

18 Act. 

19 (B) EXCEPTION FOR ATHLETIC GOVERN20 ANCE ASSOCIATIONS.—Athletic governance as21 sociations shall not be eligible for compensation 

22 under subparagraph (A). 

23 (i) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 

24 on which the Committee meets for the first time, the Com25 mission shall submit a report to Congress, including— 

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1 (1) a summary of the review conducted and 

2 findings derived under subsection (b); and 

3 (2) recommendations based on the review and 

4 analysis conducted under this section. 

5 (j) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

6 on the date that is 30 days after the report required under 

7 subsection (i) is submitted to Congress. 

8 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2021 

10 to 2022 $2,000,000 to carry out this Act. 

11 (l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) ATHLETIC GOVERNANCE ASSOCIATION.— 

13 The term ‘‘athletic governance association’’ means a 

14 governing body that sets rules for intercollegiate ath15 letic programs and manages topics for members of 

16 the association, including rules of the sport, cham17 pionships, health and safety, matters impacting 

18 women in athletics, and other related issues. 

19 (2) COMPETITION LEVEL.—The term ‘‘competi20 tion level’’ means the skill level of the student ath21 letes participating within a national competitive divi22 sion, subdivision, and conference affiliation. 

23 (3) INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

24 The term ‘‘institutions of higher education’’ means 

25 an institution that— 

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1 (A) meets the definition in section 

2 102(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

3 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)(1)); and 

4 (B) has student athletes who are eligible 

5 for Federal student support. 

6 (4) INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC PROGRAM.— 

7 The term ‘‘intercollegiate athletic program’’ means a 

8 collegiate level sport that requires student athletes to 

9 meet eligibility requirements established by an ath10 letic governance association for the promotion and 

11 regulation of such sport. 

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