I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3545 

To protect the academic futures of collegiate student athletes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 20, 2013 

Mr. CA ́RDENAS (for himself, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, 

Mr. HUFFMAN, and Ms. MCCOLLUM) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To protect the academic futures of collegiate student 

athletes. 

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; FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Collegiate Student Athlete Protection Act’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows: 

7 (1) Institutions of higher education that have 

8 athletic programs that offer athletically related stu9 dent aid collectively generate billions of dollars annu10 ally from contracts for media rights, and the revenue 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3545 IH

1 from such contracts would not exist without the ef2 forts of student athletes. 

3 (2) Providing adequate health and safety pro4 tection for student athletes can help prevent serious 

5 injury and death. 

6 (3) Current and former student athletes are 

7 often left to pay for medical expenses incurred from 

8 injuries suffered while participating in intercollegiate 

9 athletics. 

10 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that— 

12 (1) institutions of higher education exist to fur13 ther educate, and to provide an opportunity to ac14 quire a degree to, all students who attend such insti15 tutions; 

16 (2) institutions of higher education should en17 sure that a sports-related injury does not hinder the 

18 opportunity of a student athlete to graduate from 

19 the institution of higher education the student ath20 lete attends at the time of such injury; 

21 (3) institutions of higher education should make 

22 graduation of all student athletes a priority, regard23 less of the on-field performance of the student ath24 letes; 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3545 IH

1 (4) institutions of higher education should pro2 vide student athletes with the same due process pro3 tections afforded to students who do not participate 

4 in athletics; 

5 (5) acknowledging the bodily risks taken by the 

6 student athletes, institutions of higher education 

7 should ensure that student athletes who otherwise 

8 could not afford proper health insurance are pro9 vided such insurance to pay for sports-related inju10 ries; and 

11 (6) due to the record level of revenues that ath12 letic programs provide for institutions of higher edu13 cation, such institutions have the responsibility to 

14 provide student athletes with the highest level of 

15 education, and to provide effective efforts to ensure 

16 that student athletes attain higher education degrees 

17 from such institutions. 

18 SEC. 2. PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS. 

19 (a) NEW REQUIREMENT FOR PROGRAMS OF ASSIST20 ANCE.—Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following: 

23 ‘‘(30)(A) In the case of an institution that has 

24 an athletic program and that annually receives 

25 $10,000,000 or more in income derived from media 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3545 IH

1 rights (as calculated in accordance with subpara2 graph (B)) for the athletic program of the institu3 tion, the institution will comply with the require4 ments under subsection (k). 

5 ‘‘(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, an in6 stitution of higher education shall calculate the total 

7 amount of income the institution derives annually 

8 from media rights by adding— 

9 ‘‘(i) annual income derived from any con10 tract for media rights signed with any media 

11 entity by the institution, determined by aver12 aging the income derived from the contract an13 nually over the lifetime of the contract; 

14 ‘‘(ii) disbursements to the institution as a 

15 member institution of an athletic conference, 

16 representing member shares of the media rights 

17 of such conference; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) disbursements to the institution as a 

19 participant in an event that is hosted by an en20 tity that— 

21 ‘‘(I) hosts intercollegiate sporting 

22 events; and 

23 ‘‘(II) sells broadcast or media access 

24 to that event.’’. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3545 IH

1 (b) ATHLETIC PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

2 487 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

3 1094) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(k) ATHLETIC PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this 

6 subsection and subsection (a)(30), the following defi7 nitions shall apply: 

8 ‘‘(A) ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION.—The term 

9 ‘athletic association’ means an organization 

10 that is not an institution of higher education 

11 and— 

12 ‘‘(i) that is responsible for governing 

13 athletic programs at multiple institutions 

14 of higher education; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) the primary purpose of which is 

16 to host intercollegiate sporting events and 

17 sell broadcast or media access to such 

18 events. 

19 ‘‘(B) ATHLETIC PROGRAM.—The term 

20 ‘athletic program’ means an intercollegiate ath21 letic program of an institution of higher edu22 cation. 

23 ‘‘(C) ATHLETICALLY RELATED STUDENT

24 AID.—The term ‘athletically related student aid’ 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3545 IH

1 shall have the meaning given such term in sec2 tion 485(e). 

3 ‘‘(D) GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE.—The 

4 term ‘graduation success rate’— 

5 ‘‘(i) means the percentage of student 

6 athletes who graduate from an institution 

7 of higher education not later than 6 years 

8 after initial enrollment at such institution, 

9 including students who transfer to such in10 stitution from another institution, but ex11 cluding students who transfer out of such 

12 institution who are in good academic 

13 standing and, in accordance with the rules 

14 of the athletic association governing such 

15 athletic program, have not exhausted their 

16 eligibility to participate in such program; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) shall be calculated using the data 

19 available for the 4 most recent academic 

20 years in the exact manner as the rate is 

21 calculated under the rules of the National 

22 Collegiate Athletic Association on the date 

23 of enactment of the Collegiate Student 

24 Athlete Protection Act. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3545 IH

1 ‘‘(E) HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL.—The 

2 term ‘health care professional’ means— 

3 ‘‘(i) a physician (including a medical 

4 doctor or doctor of osteopathic medicine); 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(ii) an athletic trainer— 

7 ‘‘(I) who is registered, licensed, 

8 certified, or otherwise statutorily rec9 ognized by the State to provide treat10 ment; and 

11 ‘‘(II) whose scope of practice and 

12 experience includes the diagnosis and 

13 management of traumatic brain in14 jury. 

15 ‘‘(F) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU16 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu17 cation’ has the meaning given the term in sec18 tion 102. 

19 ‘‘(G) MEDIA RIGHTS.—The term ‘media 

20 rights’ means contractual rights granted by an 

21 institution of higher education or an athletic as22 sociation to a television network, in exchange 

23 for monetary payments to the institution or as24 sociation, to provide media coverage of the in25 stitution’s athletic program. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 3545 IH

1 ‘‘(H) STUDENT ATHLETE.—The term ‘stu2 dent athlete’ means a student enrolled at an in3 stitution of higher education who participates in 

4 an athletic program. 

5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—To comply with this 

6 subsection for the purposes of subsection (a)(30), an 

7 athletic program of an institution of higher edu8 cation described in subsection (a)(30) shall meet the 

9 following requirements: 

10 ‘‘(A) COMPLETION OF ACADEMIC PROGRAM

11 AFTER LOSS OF ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP.— 

12 ‘‘(i) LOSS DUE TO INJURY.— 

13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Each student 

14 athlete who has received or contracted 

15 to receive athletically related student 

16 aid from an institution of higher edu17 cation for participation in an athletic 

18 program and who subsequently be19 comes ineligible for such aid for all or 

20 part of an academic year due to an in21 jury or illness resulting from the ath22 lete’s participation in the athletic pro23 gram shall, upon a determination by a 

24 physician selected by the institution 

25 and a physician that is not affiliated 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 3545 IH

1 with any institution, that the student 

2 athlete is medically ineligible to par3 ticipate in such program, be provided 

4 with institutional student aid for the 

5 period described in subclause (II) in 

6 an amount equivalent to the amount 

7 the student would have received in 

8 athletically related student aid for 

9 such academic year (or part thereof) 

10 if the student had not suffered such 

11 injury or illness. The student shall 

12 also receive continued academic sup13 ports, including tutoring, at the same 

14 level received prior to being deemed 

15 medically ineligible, for the entire pe16 riod that the student receives institu17 tional student aid. 

18 ‘‘(II) PERIOD OF AID.—The in19 stitution of higher education shall pro20 vide institutional student aid required 

21 under subclause (I) for a period that, 

22 combined with the total duration of 

23 time the student previously received 

24 athletically related student aid, is 

25 equal to 5 academic years, or until the 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 3545 IH

1 student athlete completes the athlete’s 

2 undergraduate degree, whichever time 

3 period is shorter. The institution may, 

4 at its discretion, provide institutional 

5 student aid for an additional period. 

6 ‘‘(III) LEAVE OF ABSENCE.—In 

7 the case of a student athlete who 

8 takes a leave of absence from an insti9 tution of higher education due to an 

10 injury or illness resulting from the 

11 athlete’s participation in an athletic 

12 program, the duration of such leave of 

13 absence shall not be counted as part 

14 of the period of required institutional 

15 student aid due to the student under 

16 subclause (II). 

17 ‘‘(ii) LOSS DUE TO EXHAUSTED ELIGI18 BILITY.— 

19 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as 

20 provided in subclause (III), each stu21 dent athlete who has received athlet22 ically related student aid from an in23 stitution of higher education for par24 ticipation in an athletic program, and 

25 who is maintaining academic standing 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 3545 IH

1 consistent with the requirements for 

2 graduation, but who, in accordance 

3 with the rules of the athletic associa4 tion governing such athletic program, 

5 has exhausted the athlete’s athletic 

6 eligibility to participate in such pro7 gram before the student has com8 pleted an undergraduate degree shall 

9 be provided with institutional student 

10 aid for the period described in sub11 clause (II) in an amount equivalent to 

12 the amount the student would have 

13 received in athletically related student 

14 aid if the student’s athletic eligibility 

15 were not exhausted. 

16 ‘‘(II) PERIOD OF AID.—The in17 stitution shall provide institutional 

18 student aid required under subclause 

19 (I) for a period of 1 year, or until the 

20 student athlete completes an under21 graduate degree, whichever time pe22 riod is shorter. 

23 ‘‘(III) EXCEPTION.—An institu24 tion of higher education shall not be 

25 required to provide institutional stuVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:25 Nov 21, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3545.IH H3545

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 3545 IH

1 dent aid to a student athlete in ac2 cordance with subclause (I) if such 

3 student athlete received athletically 

4 related student aid from the institu5 tion for participation in a team sport 

6 with a graduation success rate for 

7 such team that is 70 percent or high8 er. 

9 ‘‘(iii) INVOLUNTARY LOSS FOR ANY

10 REASON OTHER THAN FOR CAUSE.— 

11 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A student 

12 athlete who has received athletically 

13 related student aid from an institution 

14 of higher education for participation 

15 in an athletic program and who is 

16 maintaining academic standing con17 sistent with the requirements for 

18 graduation, but who will not receive 

19 such aid for all or part of an academic 

20 year because the student was involun21 tarily dismissed from participation in 

22 such athletic program shall be pro23 vided with institutional student aid in 

24 an amount equivalent to the amount 

25 the student would have received in 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 3545 IH

1 athletically related student aid for 

2 such academic year (or part thereof) 

3 if the student had not been dismissed. 

4 ‘‘(II) PERIOD OF AID.—The in5 stitution shall provide institutional 

6 student aid required under subclause 

7 (I) for a period that, combined with 

8 the total duration of time the student 

9 previously received athletically related 

10 student aid, is equal to 5 academic 

11 years, or until the student athlete 

12 completes the athlete’s undergraduate 

13 degree, whichever is time period short14 er. The institution may, at its discre15 tion, provide institutional student aid 

16 for an additional period. 

17 ‘‘(iv) LOSS FOR CAUSE.— 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Notwith19 standing clauses (i) through (iii), a 

20 student athlete who has received ath21 letically related student aid from an 

22 institution of higher education for 

23 participation in an athletic program 

24 shall not be eligible for institutional 

25 student aid required under this paraVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:25 Nov 21, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3545.IH H3545

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 3545 IH

1 graph if the student is dismissed from 

2 participation in such program or oth3 erwise denied such aid for cause, ex4 cept that a student athlete may ap5 peal the loss of athletically related 

6 student aid to the institution or an 

7 athletic association of which the insti8 tution is a member, as appropriate. 

9 ‘‘(II) FOR CAUSE.—In this 

10 clause, the term ‘for cause’ means 

11 that the student was found by the in12 stitution of higher education to have 

13 violated academic or disciplinary 

14 standards of the institution. 

15 ‘‘(B) MANDATORY WORKSHOP.—At the be16 ginning of each academic year, each first-year 

17 and third-year student athlete shall be required 

18 to attend and complete an ‘Athletics Participa19 tion Readiness’ workshop conducted by the in20 stitution of higher education. Such workshop 

21 shall include— 

22 ‘‘(i) information about the long-term 

23 dangers of concussions and head injuries 

24 that shall be administered by a health care 

25 professional and include recent data from 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 3545 IH

1 the Centers for Disease Control and Pre2 vention; 

3 ‘‘(ii) information concerning financial 

4 aid and debt management; 

5 ‘‘(iii) a recommended budget for stu6 dent athletes for the academic year, based 

7 on the institution’s cost of attendance for 

8 such academic year, that accounts for 

9 whether the student athlete receives athlet10 ically related student aid that covers all or 

11 part of such cost, and whether the student 

12 lives on or off campus; 

13 ‘‘(iv) information on time manage14 ment skills necessary for success as a stu15 dent athlete; 

16 ‘‘(v) academic resources available on 

17 campus, including tutoring, career develop18 ment, and career search resources; and 

19 ‘‘(vi) an explanation of the institu20 tion’s responsibilities and obligations to the 

21 student athletes with respect to scholarship 

22 renewal, medical insurance, and medical 

23 payments for injury and illness resulting 

24 from participation in an athletic program. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 3545 IH

1 ‘‘(C) DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS.—A student 

2 athlete who faces loss or reduction of athlet3 ically related student aid for a violation of a 

4 disciplinary standard of the institution of high5 er education shall be provided the opportunity 

6 for a formal administrative hearing, not less 

7 than 1 appeal, and any other due process proce8 dure the Secretary determines by regulation to 

9 be necessary. 

10 ‘‘(D) TRANSFER REQUESTS.—Each re11 quest by a student athlete submitted to the in12 stitution of higher education for a transfer to 

13 another institution of higher education shall be 

14 granted or denied by the institution at which 

15 the student is enrolled not later than 7 business 

16 days after the date on which such request is 

17 submitted to such institution. 

18 ‘‘(E) HEALTH CARE COSTS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) PELL ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—Ex20 cept as provided in clause (iv), each stu21 dent athlete who is eligible to receive a 

22 Federal Pell Grant under subpart 1 of part 

23 A, shall be provided with institutional aid, 

24 paid to the student directly or to the inVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:25 Nov 21, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3545.IH H3545

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 3545 IH

1 surer of such student on the student’s be2 half, in an amount sufficient to cover— 

3 ‘‘(I) during the period of the stu4 dent’s participation in an athletic pro5 gram of the institution— 

6 ‘‘(aa) the premium applica7 ble to the insurance plan in 

8 which the student is enrolled; 

9 ‘‘(bb) any deductible appli10 cable to such plan; and 

11 ‘‘(cc) any other cost-sharing 

12 or other out-of-pocket expenses of 

13 the student with respect to such 

14 plan, including co-payments; and 

15 ‘‘(II) in the case in which the 

16 student suffers an injury or illness re17 sulting from the student’s participa18 tion in an athletic program of the in19 stitution— 

20 ‘‘(aa) the health insurance 

21 costs described in items (aa) 

22 through (cc) of subclause (I) dur23 ing the period of the student’s 

24 participation in an athletic pro25 gram of the institution; and 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 3545 IH

1 ‘‘(bb) the costs described in 

2 subclauses (I) through (III) of 

3 clause (ii) for the duration de4 scribed in clause (iii). 

5 ‘‘(ii) INJURY-RELATED COSTS.—Ex6 cept as provided in clause (iv), each stu7 dent athlete who suffers an injury or ill8 ness resulting from the student’s participa9 tion in an athletic program of the institu10 tion shall be provided with institutional 

11 aid, paid to the student directly or to the 

12 insurer of such student on the student’s 

13 behalf, in an amount sufficient to cover— 

14 ‘‘(I) the premium applicable to 

15 the insurance plan in which the stu16 dent is enrolled; 

17 ‘‘(II) any deductible applicable to 

18 such plan; and 

19 ‘‘(III) for a period of not less 

20 than 2 years after the student ath21 lete’s graduation or separation from 

22 the institution— 

23 ‘‘(aa) any other cost-sharing 

24 expenses of the student with reVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:25 Nov 21, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3545.IH H3545

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 3545 IH

1 spect to such plan, including co2 payments; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) any out-of-pocket ex4 penses of the student with re5 spect to such injury or illness. 

6 ‘‘(iii) DURATION OF AID.—An institu7 tion shall provide a student athlete with 

8 the institutional aid required under clause 

9 (ii)— 

10 ‘‘(I) until the student’s injury or 

11 illness has been resolved and the stu12 dent has been cleared by a physician 

13 to resume participation in an athletic 

14 program; or 

15 ‘‘(II) in the case of a student 

16 who is suffering from an injury or ill17 ness that requires ongoing medical 

18 treatment, for a period of not less 

19 than 2 years after the student ath20 lete’s graduation or separation from 

21 the institution. 

22 ‘‘(iv) PREEXISTING CONDITIONS.—An 

23 institution shall not be required to provide 

24 institutional aid to a student athlete under 

25 clause (i) or (ii) for any preexisting medVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:25 Nov 21, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3545.IH H3545

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 3545 IH

1 ical condition that predates the student 

2 athlete’s participation in the athletic pro3 gram. 

4 ‘‘(F) EMERGENCY ACTION PLANS AND

5 WRITTEN POLICIES.—The institution shall 

6 have— 

7 ‘‘(i) venue-specific Emergency Action 

8 Plans that are coordinated by the institu9 tion’s health care professional or sports 

10 medicine staff and regularly rehearsed with 

11 local emergency personnel to prevent, as12 sess, and treat sports-related injuries; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) written policies and guidelines re14 lated to exercise for and supervision of any 

15 student athlete identified before or during 

16 participation in an athletic program of the 

17 institution to have a medical condition that 

18 is potentially life-threatening and that 

19 could be affected by the student athlete’s 

20 participation in such program. 

21 ‘‘(G) SPORTS-RELATED CONCUSSIONS.— 

22 The institution shall provide annual baseline 

23 concussion testing of each student athlete on 

24 the active roster of each team participating in 

25 a contact or collision sport or a limited-contact 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 3545 IH

1 or impact sport (based on the most recent clas2 sification of sports published by the Committee 

3 on Sports Medicine of the American Academy 

4 of Pediatrics) that is administered by health 

5 care professionals employed by the institution 

6 before such student athlete may participate in 

7 any contact drills or activities. 

8 ‘‘(H) COMPLIANCE COSTS.—Costs to the 

9 institution resulting from compliance with this 

10 paragraph shall be paid exclusively from institu11 tional revenue derived from income described in 

12 subsection (a)(30)(B).’’. 

Æ 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS