WASHINGTON, DC – Tomorrow, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and former Division I volleyball player, will introduce the College Athletics Reform Act (CARA), landmark legislation designed to stabilize college sports, protect athletes’ rights, and create a sustainable system for all schools and sports. Introduction of CARA comes as the House of Representatives is set to vote this week on the flawed SCORE Act, which will roll back the rights of college athletes and hand massive giveaways to the NCAA and powerful conferences.
“Despite years of intense lobbying from the most powerful institutions in college athletics, Congress is increasingly divided on how to address the challenges threatening the industry. Too many proposals pushed by entrenched power brokers focus on regaining control at the expense of the athletes who drive college sports, rather than on creating a sustainable system, particularly for women’s and Olympic sports and smaller schools,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “The College Athletics Reform Act recognizes that divide. It offers a clear, bipartisan path forward to tackle the toughest questions facing college sports and to build a stronger system for every athlete, every team, and every school.”
CARA enshrines athletes’ NIL rights into federal law, implements guardrails to protect against predatory agents, expands opportunities for women’s and Olympic sports as well as smaller schools, including HBCUs, and sets college athletics on a path to an enduring governance model that centers athletes. Specifically, the bill:
- Delivers for College Athletes: Establishes federal standards for name, image, and likeness rights and codifies rules for agents with both governmental and private enforcement. The bill also closes the international athlete loophole, ensuring all athletes can exercise the same NIL rights as their teammates.
- Charts a Better Path Forward: Creates a bipartisan Commission to Stabilize College Sports with a two-year timeline to develop recommendations for an enduring governance model. The Commission will also review the state of Title IX and explore how to deploy new revenues generated through amendments to the Sports Broadcasting Act to expand opportunities in women’s and Olympic sports and support athletic programs at smaller schools. Its structure reflects input from current and former athletes, both chambers of Congress, multiple committees, conferences, schools, and experts in athletics, civil rights, labor, and Title IX.
- Increases Revenue for All Schools: Amends the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to allow schools to pool media rights, strengthening revenue for all stakeholders, particularly non-Power Two schools and HBCUs, and ensuring resources for women’s and Olympic programs.
- Protects Opportunities for Women: Enhances Title IX reporting requirements to improve transparency and accountability, including revenue sharing, roster spots, expenditures, and travel.
CARA is endorsed by a broad coalition of independent organizations representing athletes, legal experts, and advocates for fair competition. Supporters include professional Players Associations, National College Players Association, College Basketball Players Association, VOICEINSPORT Foundation, The Drake Group, American Association for Justice, The Center for Law and Social Policy, and the Committee to Support the Antitrust Laws.
A copy of the legislation can be accessed HERE.
A section-by-section summary can be accessed HERE.
Statements of Support:
“Today the Players Associations proudly announce our support of the College Athletics Reform Act. We are grateful to Congresswoman Trahan for her steadfast leadership and support for college athletes. Today's college athletes will become tomorrow's professionals, and many will become future members of the Players Associations. The College Athletics Reform Act would codify protections these athletes deserve. We urge its immediate consideration,” said the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA), and the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA).
“The National College Players Association supports Representative Trahan’s College Athletics Reform Act as an important step toward protecting college athletes’ NIL freedoms and advancing comprehensive reform, including the enforcement of safety standards to prevent serious injury, abuse, and death among college athletes,” said Ramogi Huma, Executive Director of the National College Players Association.
“We strongly endorse the College Athletics Reform Act and urge both sides of the aisle to provide nonpartisan support. The bill addresses the most pressing athlete protection issues in college sports – the regulation of sports agents, the assurance of athletes' NIL rights, and an enforcement system (FTC and state attorneys general) more likely to protect all athletes rather than the commercial interests of a few. Importantly, it also provides a blueprint for moving forward with a bipartisan Congressional Commission that will have the time and data needed to develop solutions to those issues that have created the current legislative stalemate. This bill makes good sense and deserves the public’s and Congress’s support,” said Kassandra Ramsey, Esq., President of The Drake Group, an academic think tank working to better educate the U.S. Congress and higher education policymakers about critical issues in intercollegiate athletics.
“Our nation’s college athletes are more than players—they’re a cherished part of American culture. But for too long, the NCAA and big institutions have profited off of their hard work while failing to empower and protect them. This critical legislation would finally ensure that college athletes have legally enforceable rights and the same economic freedoms as every other American. I thank Representative Trahan for her tireless work on behalf of college athletes and the schools that rely on them,” said Linda Lipsen, CEO of the American Association for Justice.
“We are grateful to Representative Trahan for introducing the College Athletics Reform Act. This is an important step towards founding a truly fair and stable college athletics system that past and current athletes have spent so long fighting for, one in which students can actually benefit from the share of the billions raised off their labor. This legislation provides valuable opportunities for underrepresented students— including often-disproportionate shares of Black men participating in the sports who generate the highest annual revenues— to earn compensation and gain connections and skills that follow them past their time on campus,” said Elyse Shaw, Director of Education, Labor, and Worker Justice at The Center for Law and Social Policy.
“COSAL applauds Rep. Lori Trahan for introducing the College Athletics Reform Act (CARA), which protects the dignity and rights of college athletes from the greed of the NCAA power brokers. CARA protects college athletes by prohibiting, at long last, the NCAA from interfering with athletes’ rights to receive compensation for their name, image and likeness. Critically, CARA allows athletes to continue to bring antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA when it abuses or exploits those athletes for its own private gain,” said Deborah Elman, President of the Committee to Support the Antitrust Laws (COSAL).
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