I 

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. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 

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

3 ‘‘National Collegiate Athletics Accountability Act’’, or the 

4 ‘‘NCAA Act’’. 

5 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 

6 (1) Nationwide, institutions of higher education 

7 receive approximately $150,000,000,000 to 

8 $200,000,000,000 in funding under title IV of the 

9 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 

10 seq.) annually, including approximately 

11 $20,000,000,000 to $30,000,000,000 in Federal Pell 

12 Grants. 

13 (2) In fiscal year 2014, institutions of higher 

14 education are projected to receive approximately 

15 $140,000,000,000 in Federal student aid under title 

16 IV of such Act, which accounts for 77 percent of all 

17 funding received by these institutions from the Fed18 eral Government. 

19 (3) Funding under title IV of such Act is used 

20 to provide grants, loans, and work-study funds from 

21 the Federal Government to eligible students enrolled 

22 in institution of higher education, including career 

23 schools. 

24 (4) Many institutions of higher education par25 ticipate in voluntary, nonprofit athletic associations 

26 and athletic conferences, with the largest such assoVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Jun 16, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2731.IH H2731

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1 ciation having over 1,000 member institutions of 

2 higher education with more than 430,000 students 

3 participating in athletics, and providing approxi4 mately $523,000,000 in revenue sharing to such 

5 members. 

6 (5) Athletic programs at institutions of higher 

7 education are some of the largest revenue generators 

8 for such institutions nationwide, accounting for ap9 proximately $6,100,000,000 in revenue from ticket 

10 sales, radio and television receipts, alumni contribu11 tions, guarantees, royalties, and association distribu12 tions. 

13 (6) The Committee on Sports Medicine of the 

14 American Academy of Pediatrics published a classi15 fication of sports based on the likelihood of contact, 

16 impact, or injury, and determined that— 

17 (A) boxing, field hockey, football, ice hock18 ey, lacrosse, martial arts, rodeo, soccer, and 

19 wrestling are contact/collision sports; and 

20 (B) baseball, basketball, bicycling, diving, 

21 high jump, pole vault, gymnastics, horseback 

22 riding, ice skating, roller skating, cross-country 

23 skiing, downhill skiing, water skiing, softball, 

24 squash, handball, and volleyball are limited-con25 tact/impact sports. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS. 

2 Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

3 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

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

6 intercollegiate athletic program, the institution will 

7 not be a member of a nonprofit athletic association 

8 unless such association— 

9 ‘‘(A) requires annual baseline concussion 

10 testing of each student athlete on the active 

11 roster of each team participating in a contact/ 

12 collision sport or a limited-contact/impact sport 

13 (based on the most recent classification of 

14 sports published by the Committee on Sports 

15 Medicine of the American Academy of Pediat16 rics) before such student athlete may partici17 pate in any contact drills or activities; 

18 ‘‘(B) prior to enforcing any remedy for an 

19 alleged infraction or violation of the policies of 

20 such association— 

21 ‘‘(i) provides institutions and student 

22 athletes with the opportunity for a formal 

23 administrative hearing, not less than one 

24 appeal, and any other due process proce25 dure the Secretary determines by regula26 tion to be necessary; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) hold in abeyance any such rem2 edy until all appeals have been exhausted 

3 or until the deadline to appeal has passed, 

4 whichever is sooner; 

5 ‘‘(C) with respect to institutions attended 

6 by students receiving athletically related stu7 dent aid (as defined in section 485(e)), requires 

8 any such athletically related student aid pro9 vided to student athletes who play a contact/col10 lision sport (based on the most recent classifica11 tion of sports published by the Committee on 

12 Sports Medicine of the American Academy of 

13 Pediatrics) to be— 

14 ‘‘(i) guaranteed for the duration of 

15 the student athlete’s attendance at the in16 stitution, up to 4 years; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) irrevocable for reasons related to 

18 athletic skill or injury of the student ath19 lete; and 

20 ‘‘(D) does not have in place a policy that 

21 prohibits institutions from paying stipends to 

22 student athletes.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON INTERCOLLEGIATE 

2 ATHLETICS. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com4 mission to be known as the Presidential Commission on 

5 Intercollegiate Athletics. 

6 (b) DUTIES.— 

7 (1) REVIEW.—The Commission shall review and 

8 analyze the following issues related to intercollegiate 

9 athletics: 

10 (A) The interaction of athletics and aca11 demics, including— 

12 (i) the extent to which existing ath13 letic practices allow student athletes to 

14 succeed as both students and athletes; 

15 (ii) how athletics affect the academic 

16 mission, academic integrity, and credit 

17 worthiness of institutions of higher edu18 cation; 

19 (iii) graduation rates of student ath20 letes; and 

21 (iv) standards of academic eligibility 

22 for participation in and terms of scholar23 ships for student athletes. 

24 (B) The financing of intercollegiate ath25 letics, including— 


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1 (i) sources of revenue, including stu2 dent fees, media contracts, and licensing 

3 agreements; 

4 (ii) expenditures of revenue, including 

5 compliance with title IX of the Education 

6 Amendments of 1972, coaching salaries, 

7 and facilities development; 

8 (iii) the ability of institutions of high9 er education to finance intercollegiate ath10 letics; 

11 (iv) the financial transparency of 

12 intercollegiate athletics; 

13 (v) the criteria for receipt of financial 

14 disbursements or rewards from athletic 

15 membership associations; 

16 (vi) rules related to earnings and ben17 efits by student athletes, including the pos18 sibility of commercial compensation for the 

19 use of the names, images, and likenesses of 

20 student athletes and whether a student 

21 athlete may retain a personal representa22 tive to negotiate on behalf of the student 

23 athlete; 

24 (vii) tax regulations related to revenue 

25 from intercollegiate athletics; and 


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1 (viii) Federal judicial decisions that 

2 affect compensation for student athletes or 

3 the right of student athletes to organize as 

4 a collective bargaining unit. 

5 (C) Recruitment and retention of student 

6 athletes, including rules related to— 

7 (i) professional sports participation; 

8 (ii) transfer of student athletes to 

9 other institutions; and 

10 (iii) recruitment and representations 

11 made to potential student athletes. 

12 (D) Oversight and governance practices. 

13 (E) Health and safety protections for stu14 dent athletes. 

15 (F) Due process and equal enforcement re16 lated to rules and regulations for student ath17 letes. 

18 (G) Any other issues the Commission con19 siders relevant to understanding the state of 

20 intercollegiate athletics. 

21 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission 

22 shall develop recommendations regarding the issues 

23 identified in paragraph (1) based on the review and 

24 analysis of the issues under such paragraph. 

25 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

2 composed of 17 members appointed as follows: 

3 (A) Five members appointed by the Presi4 dent, in consultation with the Secretary of Edu5 cation and the Attorney General. 

6 (B) Three members appointed by the 

7 Speaker of the House of Representatives, in8 cluding— 

9 (i) one Member of the House of Rep10 resentatives; and 

11 (ii) two individuals who are not Mem12 bers of Congress. 

13 (C) Three members appointed by the mi14 nority leader of the House of Representatives, 

15 including— 

16 (i) one Member of the House of Rep17 resentatives; and 

18 (ii) two individuals who are not Mem19 bers of Congress. 

20 (D) Three members appointed by the ma21 jority leader of the Senate, including— 

22 (i) one Member of the Senate; and 

23 (ii) two individuals who are not Mem24 bers of Congress. 


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1 (E) Three members appointed by the mi2 nority leader of the Senate, including— 

3 (i) one Member of the Senate; and 

4 (ii) two individuals who are not Mem5 bers of Congress. 

6 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Appointments shall be 

7 made from individuals who are specially qualified to 

8 serve on the Commission by virtue of their edu9 cation, training, or experience. 

10 (3) VACANCY.—Any vacancy on the Commis11 sion shall not affect the powers of the Commission, 

12 but shall be filled in the manner in which the origi13 nal appointment was made. 

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

15 be elected by the members. 

16 (5) REIMBURSEMENT; SERVICE WITHOUT

17 PAY.—Members of the Commission shall serve with18 out pay, except members of the Commission shall be 

19 entitled to reimbursement for travel, subsistence, 

20 and other necessary expenses incurred by them in 

21 carrying out the functions of the Commission, in the 

22 same manner as persons employed intermittently by 

23 the Federal Government are allowed expenses under 

24 section 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 (d) STAFF.—The Commission may appoint and fix 

2 the compensation of a staff director and such other per3 sonnel as may be necessary to enable the Commission to 

4 carry out its functions, without regard to the provisions 

5 of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in 

6 the competitive service, and without regard to the provi7 sions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of 

8 such title relating to classification and General Schedule 

9 pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this para10 graph may exceed the equivalent of that payable for a po11 sition at level V of the Executive Schedule under section 

12 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

13 (e) MEETINGS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall meet 

15 at the call of the Chair or of a majority of its mem16 bers. 

17 (2) FIRST MEETING.—The first such meeting 

18 shall occur not later than 90 days after the date of 

19 the enactment of this Act. 

20 (f) POWERS.— 

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

22 the purpose of carrying out this section, hold hear23 ings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, 

24 and receive evidence as the Commission considers 

25 appropriate. 


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1 (2) DELEGATION.—Any member or agent of 

2 the Commission may, if authorized by the Commis3 sion, take any action which the Commission is au4 thorized to take by this subsection. 

5 (3) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Commis6 sion may secure directly from any department or 

7 agency of the United States information necessary 

8 to enable it to carry out this section. Upon request 

9 of the Commission, the head of such department or 

10 agency shall furnish such information to the Com11 mission. 

12 (4) USE OF MAILS.—The Commission may use 

13 the United States mails in the same manner and 

14 under the same conditions as other departments and 

15 agencies of the United States. 

16 (5) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Adminis17 trator of General Services shall provide to the Com18 mission on a reimbursable basis such administrative 

19 support services as the Commission may request 

20 that are necessary for the Commission to carry out 

21 its responsibilities under this section. 

22 (g) REPORT.—Not later than the date that is 1 year 

23 after the date of the first meeting of the Commission, the 

24 Commission shall submit to the President and the Con25 gress a written report of its findings and recommendations 


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1 based on the review and analysis required by subsection 

2 (b). 

3 (h) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

4 on the date that is 30 days after the date on which the 

5 Commission submits the report required by subsection (g). 

6 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

8 means the Presidential Commission on Intercolle9 giate Athletics established by subsection (a). 

10 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

11 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ means any in12 stitution that— 

13 (A) meets the definition in section 

14 102(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

15 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)(1)); and 

16 (B) has student athletes who are eligible 

17 for Federal student loans. 

Æ 


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