Potential NIL bill negotiations fell apart after Senate committee members wanted to ‘jettison HBCUs’

BY HBCU SPORTS

The chairwoman of a Senate committee responsible for handling issues related to collegiate athletics said the group could not agree on the framework of a NIL bill because some members wanted to make it tougher for HBCUs to fund health and safety coverage for athletes.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Wednesday in an interview with USA Today the committee came close to agreement on a name, image, and likeness bill during the last Congressional session that included measures on athlete health, safety, and welfare.

But a potential deal fell apart when, according to Cantwell, “a lot of people wanted to jettison the HBCUs from Division I.”

“We didn’t think that was such a good idea,” Cantwell said. “And we weren’t for that for a bunch of different reasons. And so the negotiations fell apart over that issue.”

HBCU Sports reached out to Cantwell’s office Thursday to get additional context on how the NIL bill talks would affect HBCUs.

“The NIL bill we tried to put together fell apart because it included a requirement that Division I schools provide a baseline of health, safety, and scholarship protections for college athletes,” Tricia Enright, a spokeswoman for Cantwell’s office, said in an email to HBCU Sports. “Not all Division I schools could afford that, notably HBCUs, so we were working on a model to fund those protections for all schools by requiring the athletic association to provide financial assistance.”

Wright further explained that the “SEC balked at this approach” and would not support a bill that would provide financial assistance to all schools.

Leaders of the four major HBCU conferences last month implored members of Congress to consider legislation that would address NIL that would have a “staggering impact” on their schools.

Conference commissioners of the CIAA, MEAC, SIAC, and SWAC sent a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus in September to investigate how NIL and athlete employment would affect Black colleges.

At the heart of the matter, the HBCU commissioners suggested that schools may be forced to discontinue teams or entire departments if athletes are ruled employees.

“To protect all that we have accomplished on our HBCU campuses, we ask for your support in passing laws that, when necessary, pre-empt state law to create clear and fair playing fields for HBCU student-athletes,” a portion of the letter stated. “Like the majority of our Division II and mid-major peers, most HBCUs do not generate significant revenue and rely heavily on school-appropriated funds and donations. Therefore, classifying student-athletes as employees would have a staggering impact on our athletic programs and schools.”