A Call for Congressional Action: Saving College Sports from the Brink

In an opinion piece, Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell argues that college sports are on a “downward spiral” and Congress must intervene with a comprehensive solution. He criticizes the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act, a bill currently being fast-tracked, as an inadequate fix that fails to protect women’s and Olympic sports and leaves smaller schools at a disadvantage.

Campbell asserts that the NCAA, due to its conflicting governance structure and long history of legal losses, is not the right organization to lead this change. He states that the SCORE Act, while not explicitly giving the NCAA power, would allow it to regain control, revert to its old practices, and receive a sweeping antitrust exemption that it has not earned.

To truly save college sports, Campbell proposes:

• A New Governing Body: An independent organization that is not the NCAA and that represents the interests of all stakeholders, from large to small schools and from football players to Olympic athletes.
• Modernizing the Sports Broadcasting Act (SBA): A 1961 law that, if updated, could generate significant new revenue to solve the financial strains on athletic departments and prevent the cutting of non-revenue sports.
• A Seat at the Table for Athletes: Ensuring that student-athletes, including women and those in Olympic sports, have a real voice in shaping policies that affect their health, compensation, and workload.

Campbell concludes that Congress must act now to create a durable system that protects the entire ecosystem of college sports, not just the most powerful programs.