I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2036 

To provide protections for amateur and professional athletes, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2019 

Mr. LAWSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To provide protections for amateur and professional athletes, 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘National Collegiate Athletics Act of 2019’’ or the 

6 ‘‘NCAA Act of 2019’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—ATHLETES ENROLLED IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 

EDUCATION 


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Sec. 10. Enforcement. 

Sec. 11. Amateurism. 

Sec. 12. Scholarships. 

Sec. 13. Returning athlete scholarships. 

Sec. 14. Student-athlete work opportunity. 

Sec. 15. Student-athlete injury coverage. 

TITLE II—COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS 

Sec. 21. Collective bargaining agreements in professional sports. 

TITLE III—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 31. Annual report. 

Sec. 32. Definitions. 

1 TITLE I—ATHLETES ENROLLED 

2 IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 

3 EDUCATION 

4 SEC. 10. ENFORCEMENT. 

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

6 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(30) The institution will comply with the re9 quirements of title I of the NCAA Act of 2019.’’. 

10 SEC. 11. AMATEURISM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

12 (b), an institution of higher education may not restrict, 

13 or be a member of an intercollegiate athletic association 

14 that restricts amateur athletes from participating in ama15 teur sports. 

16 (b) RESTRICTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply 

17 to restrictions with respect to— 

18 (1) performance enhancement drugs; 


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1 (2) controlled substances which are illegal 

2 under the State laws in which the institution is lo3 cated; 

4 (3) educational requirements; or 

5 (4) student code violations. 

6 SEC. 12. SCHOLARSHIPS. 

7 (a) FRESHMEN SCHOLARSHIP REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a student de9 scribed in paragraph (2), an institution of higher 

10 education may only provide a scholarship for at least 

11 2 concurrent academic years. 

12 (2) STUDENT DESCRIBED.—A student de13 scribed under this paragraph is a student who— 

14 (A) participates as an athlete in a colle15 giate revenue-generating sport; 

16 (B) is an incoming freshman at such insti17 tution; and 

18 (C) does not transfer to such institution 

19 from another institution of higher education. 

20 (b) OTHER STUDENT ATHLETES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a student de22 scribed in paragraph (2), an institution of higher 

23 education may only provide a scholarship for at least 

24 1 academic year. 


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1 (2) STUDENT DESCRIBED.—A student de2 scribed in this paragraph is a student who— 

3 (A) participates as an athlete in a colle4 giate revenue-generating sport; and 

5 (B) is not a recipient of a scholarship 

6 under subsection (a). 

7 (c) AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP.—The amount of a 

8 scholarship under subsection (a) or (b) shall be equal to 

9 the cost of attendance for the institution awarding such 

10 scholarship, as determined under section 472 of the High11 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll). 

12 (d) REVOCATION.—An institution of higher education 

13 may only revoke a scholarship under subsections (a) and 

14 (b) if the recipient of such scholarship— 

15 (1) elects to withdraw from participating in the 

16 collegiate revenue-generating sport; 

17 (2) fails to complete mandatory time with re18 spect to such sport; 

19 (3) is not an amateur athlete; 

20 (4) violates the student code of conduct of the 

21 institution of higher education; or 

22 (5) has a GPA or academic performance below 

23 the standard for student athletes of the institution 

24 of higher education. 


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1 SEC. 13. RETURNING ATHLETE SCHOLARSHIPS. 

2 (a) ASSOCIATES DEGREE.—In the case of a student 

3 that received a scholarship from an institution of higher 

4 education under subsection (a) or (b) of section 12 and 

5 attended such institution for a period of less than 2 aca6 demic years, such institution of higher education shall pro7 vide a needs-based scholarship to such student to complete 

8 the minimum coursework necessary to obtain an associate 

9 degree or equivalent, unless the athletes scholarship had 

10 been previously revoked under section 12(d). 

11 (b) BACHELORS DEGREE.—In the case of a student 

12 that received a scholarship from an institution of higher 

13 education under subsection (a) or (b) of section 12 and 

14 attended such institution for a period of 2 or more aca15 demic years, such institution of higher education shall pro16 vide a needs-based scholarship to such student to complete 

17 the minimum coursework necessary to obtain a bachelors 

18 degree. 

19 (c) FULL-TIME STUDENTS.—An institution of higher 

20 education may require a returning student described in 

21 subsection (a) or (b) to attend such institution full-time. 

22 (d) NEEDS-BASED SCHOLARSHIP.—In this section, 

23 the term ‘‘needs-based scholarship’’ means the amount 

24 equal to— 


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1 (1) the cost of attendance for a student (as de2 fined in section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 

3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll)); minus 

4 (2) the lesser of the following: 

5 (A) The expected family contribution for 

6 such student if such contribution was deter7 mined under section 475 of the Higher Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087oo). 

9 (B) The expected family contribution for 

10 such student if such contribution was deter11 mined under section 476 of the Higher Edu12 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087pp). 

13 (C) The expected family contribution for 

14 such student if such contribution was deter15 mined under section 477 of the Higher Edu16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087qq). 

17 SEC. 14. STUDENT-ATHLETE WORK OPPORTUNITY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher education 

19 that provides a scholarship under subsection (a) or (b) of 

20 section 12 to a student shall require that such student 

21 report to such institution any potential paid work oppor22 tunity such student intends to accept, before accepting 

23 such work opportunity. 


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1 (b) REVIEW OF WORK OPPORTUNITY.—In the case 

2 of a work opportunity reported pursuant to subsection (a), 

3 an institution shall— 

4 (1) approve or deny such opportunity in writing 

5 not later than 14 days after receiving such report; 

6 or 

7 (2) deny such opportunity only if accepting 

8 such opportunity— 

9 (A) would nullify the amateur status of 

10 such student; or 

11 (B) would prohibit the student from ful12 filling mandatory time commitments for the 

13 sport for which the student received a scholar14 ship under subsection (a) or (b) of section 12. 

15 (c) EFFECT OF DENIAL.—In the case of a denial of 

16 an opportunity reported to an institution of higher edu17 cation pursuant to subsection (a), if a student accepts 

18 such opportunity, the institution may revoke the scholar19 ship under subsection (a) or (b) of section 12 of such stu20 dent. 

21 SEC. 15. STUDENT-ATHLETE INJURY COVERAGE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a student at an in23 stitution of higher education who participates as an ath24 lete in a collegiate revenue-generating sport, such institu25 tion shall ensure that such student is provided, at no cost 


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1 to such student, coverage for any medical costs incurred 

2 by such student with respect to any injury attributable 

3 to participation in such sport. Such institution shall serve 

4 as the primary payor with respect to 100 percent of such 

5 costs in lieu of any benefits such student may have under 

6 health insurance coverage or a group health plan (as such 

7 terms are defined in section 2791 of the Public Health 

8 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–91)). 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirement specified in 

10 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to students partici11 pating in a collegiate revenue-generating sport on or after 

12 the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment 

13 of this Act. 

14 TITLE II—COLLECTIVE 

15 BARGAINING AGREEMENTS 

16 SEC. 21. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS IN PRO17 FESSIONAL SPORTS. 

18 A collective bargaining agreement between a profes19 sional sports league and a professional players’ association 

20 entered into after the date of the enactment of this Act 

21 shall allow adults to enter the collective bargaining agree22 ment at the same level as other adults with the same expe23 rience level in such professional sports league. 


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1 TITLE III—GENERAL 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 31. ANNUAL REPORT. 

4 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Edu6 cation shall provide each institution of higher education 

7 with a collegiate revenue-generating sport a report of the 

8 responsibilities of such institutions with respect to players 

9 participating in the collegiate revenue-generating sport. 

10 SEC. 32. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) ADULT.—The term ‘‘adult’’ means a person 

13 that is at least 18 years old. 

14 (2) AMATEUR ATHLETE.—The term ‘‘amateur 

15 athlete’’ means an athlete that participates in a 

16 sport who has not— 

17 (A) entered into a contract with a profes18 sional team with respect to such sport; 

19 (B) received a salary with respect to such 

20 sport; 

21 (C) received earnings (not including schol22 arships) related to the participation in such 

23 sport; or 


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1 (D) received compensation from an agent 

2 representing or attempting to represent such 

3 athlete in such sport. 

4 (3) COLLEGIATE REVENUE-GENERATING

5 SPORT.—The term ‘‘collegiate revenue-generating 

6 sport’’ means men’s basketball or men’s football of7 fered by an institution of higher education for which 

8 such institution participates in a qualified league. 

9 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

10 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ means an in11 stitution described in section 101 of the Higher 

12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

13 (5) QUALIFIED LEAGUE.—The term ‘‘qualified 

14 league’’ means— 

15 (A) division 1, football bowl subdivision, 

16 autonomy schools; and 

17 (B) any sports league comprised of at least 

18 6 participating institutions of higher education 

19 in which at least 66 percent or greater of the 

20 revenues from a sport offered by such institu21 tions exceed the expenses in that sport in each 

22 of the two most recently reported years. 

23 (6) PROFESSIONAL SPORTS LEAGUE.—The 

24 term ‘‘professional sports league’’ means— 

25 (A) the National Hockey League; 


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1 (B) the National Football League; 

2 (C) the National Basketball Association; 

3 (D) Major League Baseball; and 

4 (E) Major League Soccer. 

5 (7) PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION.—A 

6 group of professional sports league players that are 

7 represented by a collective bargaining agreement 

8 with a professional sports league. 

Æ 


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