I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 275 

To establish a commission to identify and examine issues of national concern 

related to the conduct of intercollegiate athletics, to make recommendations for the resolution of the issues, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 12, 2015 

Mr. RUSH (for himself, Mr. BARTON, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and Mr. DENT) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish a commission to identify and examine issues 

of national concern related to the conduct of intercollegiate athletics, to make recommendations for the resolution of the issues, 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. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that— 

5 (1) properly conducted intercollegiate athletic 

6 programs contribute to the beneficial development of 

7 student athletes and the vibrancy of campus life at 

8 institutions of higher education; 


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1 (2) recent events pose grave threats to the fi2 nancial stability of athletic programs at institutions 

3 of higher education and create pressure on institu4 tions of higher education to consider eliminating 

5 non-revenue Olympic sports or increasing general 

6 fund, student fee, and donor subsidies to athletics at 

7 a time when such resources are needed for priority 

8 academic programs; 

9 (3) there are concerns about the health and 

10 safety needs of student athletes with regard to ade11 quacy of injury protections and other medical proto12 cols; 

13 (4) academic integrity at institutions of higher 

14 education is threatened by increased incidences of 

15 academic fraud involving student athletes, failure to 

16 provide adequate remedial programs for academi17 cally unprepared admitted athletes, and excessive 

18 athletics time demands; 

19 (5) student athletes faced with loss of financial 

20 aid and other benefits and National Collegiate Ath21 letic Association (NCAA) member institutions in 

22 danger of financial penalties, loss of media rights, 

23 and public embarrassment due to alleged rules viola24 tions are not being afforded adequate due process; 


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1 (6) the NCAA, member institutions of the 

2 NCAA, and college presidents have not adequately 

3 addressed these issues; and 

4 (7) reform is so complex and important to high5 er education that a blue ribbon commission of sport 

6 experts and members of Congress should be con7 vened to objectively study these issues and propose 

8 solutions. 

9 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 

10 There is established a commission to be known as the 

11 Presidential Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. 

12 SEC. 3. DUTIES. 

13 (a) REVIEW.—The Commission shall review and ana14 lyze the following issues related to intercollegiate athletics: 

15 (1) The interaction of athletics and academics, 

16 including— 

17 (A) the extent to which existing athletic 

18 practices allow student athletes to succeed as 

19 both students and athletes; 

20 (B) how athletics affect the academic mis21 sion, academic integrity, and credit worthiness 

22 of institutions of higher education; 

23 (C) graduation rates of student athletes; 

24 and 


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1 (D) standards of academic eligibility for 

2 participation in and terms of scholarships for 

3 student athletes. 

4 (2) The financing of intercollegiate athletics, in5 cluding— 

6 (A) sources of revenue, including student 

7 fees, media contracts, and licensing agreements; 

8 (B) expenditures of revenue, including 

9 compliance with title IX of the Education 

10 Amendments of 1972, coaching salaries, and fa11 cilities development; 

12 (C) the ability of institutions of higher 

13 education to finance intercollegiate athletics; 

14 (D) the financial transparency of inter15 collegiate athletics; 

16 (E) the criteria for receipt of financial dis17 bursements or rewards from athletic member18 ship associations; 

19 (F) rules related to earnings and benefits 

20 by student athletes, including the possibility of 

21 commercial compensation for the use of the 

22 names, images, and likenesses of student ath23 letes and whether a student athlete may retain 

24 a personal representative to negotiate on behalf 

25 of the student athlete; 


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1 (G) tax regulations related to revenue from 

2 intercollegiate athletics; and 

3 (H) Federal judicial decisions that affect 

4 compensation for student athletes or the right 

5 of student athletes to organize as a collective 

6 bargaining unit. 

7 (3) Recruitment and retention of student ath8 letes, including rules related to— 

9 (A) professional sports participation; 

10 (B) transfer of student athletes to other 

11 institutions; and 

12 (C) recruitment and representations made 

13 to potential student athletes. 

14 (4) Oversight and governance practices. 

15 (5) Health and safety protections for student 

16 athletes. 

17 (6) Due process and other protections related to 

18 the enforcement of rules and regulations related to 

19 student athletes. 

20 (7) Any other issues the Commission considers 

21 relevant to understanding the state of intercollegiate 

22 athletics. 

23 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall de24 velop recommendations regarding the issues identified in 


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1 subsection (a) based on the review and analysis of the 

2 issues under such subsection. 

3 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be com5 posed of 17 members appointed as follows: 

6 (1) Five members appointed by the President, 

7 in consultation with the Secretary of Education and 

8 the Attorney General. 

9 (2) Three members appointed by the Speaker of 

10 the House of Representatives, including— 

11 (A) one Member of the House of Rep12 resentatives; and 

13 (B) two individuals who are not Members 

14 of Congress. 

15 (3) Three members appointed by the minority 

16 leader of the House of Representatives, including— 

17 (A) one Member of the House of Rep18 resentatives; and 

19 (B) two individuals who are not Members 

20 of Congress. 

21 (4) Three members appointed by the majority 

22 leader of the Senate, including— 

23 (A) one Member of the Senate; and 

24 (B) two individuals who are not Members 

25 of Congress. 


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1 (5) Three members appointed by the minority 

2 leader of the Senate, including— 

3 (A) one Member of the Senate; and 

4 (B) two individuals who are not Members 

5 of Congress. 

6 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—Appointments shall be made 

7 from individuals who are specially qualified to serve on 

8 the Commission by virtue of their education, training, or 

9 experience. 

10 (c) VACANCY.—Any vacancy on the Commission shall 

11 not affect the powers of the Commission, but shall be filled 

12 in the manner in which the original appointment was 

13 made. 

14 (d) CHAIR.—The Chair of the Commission shall be 

15 elected by the members. 

16 (e) REIMBURSEMENT; SERVICE WITHOUT PAY.— 

17 Members of the Commission shall serve without pay, ex18 cept members of the Commission shall be entitled to reim19 bursement for travel, subsistence, and other necessary ex20 penses incurred by them in carrying out the functions of 

21 the Commission, in the same manner as persons employed 

22 intermittently by the Federal Government are allowed ex23 penses under section 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 5. STAFF. 

2 The Commission may appoint and fix the compensa3 tion of a staff director and such other personnel as may 

4 be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out its 

5 functions, without regard to the provisions of title 5, 

6 United States Code, governing appointments in the com7 petitive service, and without regard to the provisions of 

8 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title 

9 relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, 

10 except that no rate of pay fixed under this paragraph may 

11 exceed the equivalent of that payable for a position at level 

12 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 

13 5, United States Code. 

14 SEC. 6. MEETINGS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall meet at the 

16 call of the Chair or of a majority of its members. 

17 (b) FIRST MEETING.—The first such meeting shall 

18 occur not later than 90 days after the date of the enact19 ment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 7. POWERS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may, for the 

22 purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and 

23 act at times and places, take testimony, and receive evi24 dence as the Commission considers appropriate. 

25 (b) DELEGATION.—Any member or agent of the 

26 Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take 


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1 any action which the Commission is authorized to take by 

2 this section. 

3 (c) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Commission 

4 may secure directly from any department or agency of the 

5 United States information necessary to enable it to carry 

6 out this Act. Upon request of the Commission, the head 

7 of such department or agency shall furnish such informa8 tion to the Commission. 

9 (d) USE OF MAILS.—The Commission may use the 

10 United States mails in the same manner and under the 

11 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the 

12 United States. 

13 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Administrator 

14 of General Services shall provide to the Commission on 

15 a reimbursable basis such administrative support services 

16 as the Commission may request that are necessary for the 

17 Commission to carry out its responsibilities under this Act. 

18 SEC. 8. REPORT. 

19 Not later than the date that is 1 year after the date 

20 of the first meeting of the Commission, the Commission 

21 shall submit to the President and the Congress a written 

22 report of its findings and recommendations based on the 

23 review and analysis required by section 3. 


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1 SEC. 9. TERMINATION. 

2 The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 

3 30 days after the date on which the Commission submits 

4 the report required by section 8. 

5 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 

6 (a) COMMISSION.—In this Act, the term ‘‘Commis7 sion’’ means the Presidential Commission on Intercolle8 giate Athletics established by section 2. 

9 (b) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—In this 

10 Act, the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ means any 

11 institution that— 

12 (1) meets the definition in section 102(a)(1) of 

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

14 1002(a)(1)); and 

15 (2) has student athletes who are eligible for 

16 Federal student loans. 

Æ 


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