H.R. 5812 — Correcting Opportunity and Accountability in Collegiate Hiring Act (COACH Act)

This section sets forth congressional findings that (1) intercollegiate athletics, when properly governed, promote student development and broad-based participation aligned with educational missions; (2) institutions receiving federal student aid under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) have heightened obligations to prioritize educational goals and equal opportunity in athletics management; (3) escalating compensation and buyouts for athletics personnel divert resources from academics and opportunities in women's and Olympic sports, necessitating uniform guardrails as a title IV eligibility condition; and (4) federal courts have invalidated NCAA coach salary caps under antitrust law (e.g., Law v. NCAA, 10th Cir. 1998), requiring a statutory antitrust safe harbor for any compensation limits.

This section establishes limitations on intercollegiate athletics compensation and buyouts as a new condition (paragraph (30)) in the program participation agreement required for institutions of higher education to maintain eligibility for Title IV student aid programs (i.e., federal grants, loans, and work-study). The requirements are as follows: (1) caps total annual compensation paid, promised, or provided to any athletics department employee (i.e., coaches, athletic directors, and senior administrators) at 10 times the institution's tuition and required fees for a first-time, full-time undergraduate in the most recent academic year (using in-state rates for public institutions, as reported to IPEDS); (2) treats buyout or separation payments as compensation in the year paid, prohibiting exceedance of the cap; (3) extends compliance to compensation or buyouts allocated through athletics conferences, media-rights consortia, collectives, foundations, or affiliates; (4) mandates annual certification to the Secretary of compliance by the institution and affiliates, plus public disclosure of the cap amount, tuition/fees figure used, and number of covered employees whose compensation is within 10% of the cap; and (5) provides transition rules allowing pre-enactment written employment agreements to continue through their original term (excluding extensions or renewals) if disclosed and unamended to increase compensation, with full compliance required for agreements executed on or after enactment. "Total annual compensation" is broadly defined to include salaries, bonuses, deferred compensation, employer retirement contributions above standard matches, severance, in-kind benefits, appearance fees, debt relief, and payments through related organizations or third parties.

This section deems the adoption of, agreement to, compliance with, or enforcement of any rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other provision established pursuant to or in compliance with section 3 of this Act to be lawful under the antitrust laws and similar state laws. The term “antitrust laws” has the meaning given the term in section 1 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12) and includes section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent that section applies to unfair methods of competition.