H.R. 6350 — College Athletics Reform Act

This section defines 17 terms for purposes of the Act, including "(1) 'athlete agent' (as defined in the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act, 15 U.S.C. 7801); (2) 'antitrust laws' (as defined in the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. 12, and including section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 45, to the extent such section applies to unfair methods of competition); (3) 'college athlete' (i.e., individuals enrolled or agreeing to enroll at an institution who participate, or are solicited to participate, in intercollegiate sports); (4) 'compensation'; (5) 'conference'; (6) 'image'; (7) 'institution' (i.e., institution of higher education as defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. 1001); (8) 'intercollegiate athletic association'; (9) 'intercollegiate athletic competition'; (10) 'intercollegiate athletics'; (11) 'intercollegiate sports team'; (12) 'likeness'; (13) 'name'; (14) 'name, image, and likeness agreement'; (15) 'Power Four' (i.e., Big Ten Conference, Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, and Big 12 Conference, or successors); (16) 'professional representation'; and (17) 'State' (i.e., each state, the District of Columbia, and each commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States)."

This section prohibits intercollegiate athletic associations (IAAs), conferences, or institutions from (1) restricting college athletes from receiving compensation for their name, image, or likeness (NIL) or taking adverse action against athletes who do so; (2) restricting athletes from obtaining professional representation or taking adverse action therefor; and (3) requiring disclosure of NIL agreement terms, while barring sharing of voluntarily disclosed terms with third parties absent the athlete's written consent. This section makes any NIL agreement providing compensation over $600 voidable by the athlete if not in writing and containing specified elements, including a description of services, parties' names, term, compensation amount, termination provisions for nonperformance, post-enrollment termination right by the athlete, and the athlete's (or parent/guardian's, if under 18) signature. This section amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (1) to expand F nonimmigrant visas to bona fide international college athletes pursuing full-time study at qualifying U.S. institutions while participating in intercollegiate athletics, with reporting requirements, and (2) to exempt such athletes from inadmissibility for NIL activities, which do not violate F status. This section directs the Federal Trade Commission to enforce these prohibitions (excluding INA amendments) as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act, notwithstanding jurisdictional limits in 15 U.S.C. §§44, 45(a)(2), and 46 that generally exclude nonprofits, and authorizes state attorneys general to bring actions on behalf of residents.

This section amends the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act (SARTA), which regulates athlete agents to protect student-athletes from losing intercollegiate athletic eligibility, as follows: (1) in section 3(a), adds prohibitions on athlete agents charging student-athletes fees exceeding 4% of endorsement contract compensation, representing student-athletes for endorsement contracts without state registration and certification to the relevant athletic association, and entering agency contracts lacking a provision allowing student-athlete termination immediately after ceasing enrollment at an institution of higher education; and (2) revises agent contract notice language and updates a reference from the "Uniform Athlete Agents Act of 2000" to the "Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act." This section also directs the Federal Trade Commission to study options for, including funding sources, timelines, and costs and benefits of, an independent program to set standards, certify compliance, and regulate agents contracting with college athletes; and to submit a report to Congress with legislative recommendations within one year of enactment.

This section establishes in the legislative branch the 16-member Commission to Stabilize College Sports, to be appointed within 90 days of enactment (4 each by the chairs and 4 each by the ranking minority members of the Senate Committees on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committees on Education and Workforce and Energy and Commerce), with at least 2 per appointing group having current or prior intercollegiate athletics experience, relevant qualifications (e.g., athletics administration, Title IX enforcement, labor issues, civil rights, non-Power Four leadership), and no more than 8 total affiliated with Power Four institutions. The Commission has two co-chairs selected jointly by those leaders, meets upon co-chair or majority call with a quorum of 10 members, and fills vacancies in the same manner as original appointments. The Commission must study college athletics governance matters—including roles of athletic associations and governmental entities, collective bargaining methods without classifying athletes as employees, potential chartering of a new media rights and governance organization modeled on the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Title IX enforcement and effects on compensation and name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities, and uses of pooled television rights revenue to support women's and nonrevenue sports and non-Power Four schools—and submit a report on the study within two years after a majority of members are appointed to congressional leaders and the chairs and ranking minority members of the specified committees.

This section amends the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to exempt from antitrust laws joint agreements by or among institutions engaged in intercollegiate athletics, through an intercollegiate athletic association with more than 136 member institutions, to sell or transfer sponsored telecasting rights for such competitions. (As background, the act currently provides a similar antitrust exemption to professional leagues in football, baseball, basketball, and hockey for collective sales of their telecasting rights.)

This section expands reporting requirements under the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act for institutions of higher education participating in federal student aid programs to cover collegiate (including intramural and club-level) and intercollegiate athletic programs. (As background, these disclosures promote transparency on athletic participation rates, funding, revenues, expenses, and Title IX compliance for male and female students.) Specifically, the section requires institutions to report, in the aggregate and disaggregated by each men's and women's sport where applicable: (1) for each varsity team, details on athletically related student aid (total amount spent; scholarships by duration of ≤1 academic year or ≥4 academic years, average amount, number funding tuition or full cost of attendance) and revenues shared directly with athletes; (2) recruiting expenses; (3) expanded coach compensation (including bonuses, benefits, and buyouts); (4) athletics revenues and expenses (adding student fees and alumni contributions to the extent practicable); (5) participant counts on 1, 2, or 3 varsity teams; (6) male practice participants on women's varsity teams; (7) total male and female participants in collegiate (including intramural and club) sports; (8) the specific part of the three-part Title IX compliance test asserted by the institution; and (9) a verification certification. The section also requires institutions to submit reports to the Secretary of Education by October 15 annually and publish them on their websites by February 15 in machine-readable format, with the Secretary posting them publicly by February 15, effective for academic year 2026–2027 and succeeding years.