CACIA Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5528 To establish a Congressional Advisory Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics to investigate the relationship between institutions of higher education and intercollegiate athletic programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 19, 2019 Ms. SHALALA (for herself and Mr. SPANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To establish a Congressional Advisory Commission on Inter- collegiate Athletics to investigate the relationship between institutions of higher education and intercollegiate ath- letic programs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congressional Advisory 4 Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Act of 2019’’ or 5 the ‘‘CACIA Act of 2019’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5528.IH H5528 2 •HR 5528 IH (1) Under title IV of the Higher Education Act 1 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), in 2017–2018 in- 2 stitutions of higher education received funds in ex- 3 cess of $184.1 billion for Federal student support, 4 including approximately $28.2 billion in Federal Pell 5 Grants and over $40 billion in research grants. 6 (2) Under title IV of the Higher Education Act 7 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), in fiscal year 8 2019 approximately $130.4 billion of Federal stu- 9 dent support was available for higher education, in- 10 cluding over $29 billion in Federal Pell Grants. 11 (3) Many institutions of higher education volun- 12 tarily participate in athletic governance associations. 13 (4) The largest athletic governance association 14 includes over 1,100 institutions of higher education 15 and more than 430,000 student athletes. This asso- 16 ciation generates over $1 billion annually and in 17 2017–2018 it provided $609,000,000 in revenue 18 sharing to Division 1 member institutions of higher 19 education. 20 (5) In 2018, intercollegiate athletic programs 21 generated approximately $14 billion in revenue from 22 ticket sales, radio and television receipts, alumni 23 contributions, guarantees, royalties, and athletic gov- 24 ernance associations. This is a 226-percent increase 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5528.IH H5528 3 •HR 5528 IH from 2003 when the revenue generated by such in- 1 stitutions was approximately $4 billion. 2 (6) Most institutions of higher education are 3 tax-exempt organizations whose donors benefit from 4 tax-exempt contributions, including contributions re- 5 stricted by donors to support intercollegiate athletic 6 programs. 7 (7) Most intercollegiate athletic programs are 8 heavily subsidized by the institution of higher edu- 9 cation that they represent, including support 10 through institutional general funds, mandatory stu- 11 dent fees, and athletic capital projects that benefit 12 from tax-exempt bonds. 13 (8) The highest paid public employee in 41 out 14 of 50 States is a head coach of an intercollegiate 15 athletic program. 16 (9) Many intercollegiate athletics programs 17 have built lavish locker rooms, practice facilities, 18 competition facilities, and other facilities to entice 19 talented high school student athletes to attend the 20 institution of higher education, even though access 21 to such facilities are restricted from use by non-stu- 22 dent athletes. 23 (10) Serious questions have arisen regarding 24 whether institutions of higher education with highly 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5528.IH H5528 4 •HR 5528 IH commercialized intercollegiate athletic programs fol- 1 low academic standards in admitting student ath- 2 letes, have adequate faculty oversight to ensure that 3 student athletes are provided a quality education, 4 have encouraged student athletes to consider the 5 long-term consequences of athletic related injuries, 6 provided student athletes access to comprehensive 7 healthcare programs, and ensure that student ath- 8 letes have the same academic and employment op- 9 portunities as non-student athletes attending the in- 10 stitution of higher education. 11 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL ADVISORY COMMISSION ON 12 INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC PROGRAMS. 13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com- 14 mission to be known as the ‘‘Congressional Advisory Com- 15 mission on Intercollegiate Athletics’’ (in this Act referred 16 to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 17 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of the Commission shall be 18 to investigate and review the relationship between institu- 19 tions of higher education and intercollegiate athletic pro- 20 grams, including a review of— 21 (1) the policies maintained by athletic govern- 22 ance associations and institutions of higher edu- 23 cation with respect to ensuring that student athletes 24 can succeed in academics and athletics; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5528.IH H5528 5 •HR 5528 IH (2) the impact of policies identified under para- 1 graph (1) on— 2 (A) the education of undergraduate stu- 3 dent athletes, as measured by Federal gradua- 4 tion rates, compared to undergraduate non-stu- 5 dent athletes as a whole and disaggregated by 6 gender, race, sport, transfer rates, and competi- 7 tion level; 8 (B) the ability of student athletes to select 9 academic courses and a major; and 10 (C) the ability of student athletes to trans- 11 fer, without a residency requirement, to other 12 institutions of higher education; 13 (3) the impact of intercollegiate athletic pro- 14 grams on the— 15 (A) academic mission of institutions of 16 higher education; and 17 (B) academic integrity of institutions of 18 higher education, including— 19 (i) whether academic support pro- 20 grams are provided for student athletes by 21 an athletic department or academic office 22 at institutions of higher education; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5528.IH H5528 6 •HR 5528 IH (ii) a comparison between the percent- 1 age student athletes and percentage of 2 non-student athletes who are— 3 (I) taking independent studies 4 classes; or 5 (II) taking online courses; 6 (iii) whether institutions of higher 7 education conduct transparent and regular 8 reviews of student athlete academic data; 9 and 10 (iv) whether tenured faculty conduct 11 oversight of intercollegiate athletic pro- 12 grams with respect to student athlete aca- 13 demic achievement, including whether stu- 14 dent athletes has adequate time to prepare 15 for and attend class; 16 (4) how the academic eligibility standards re- 17 quired by athletic governance associations impact— 18 (A) athletic scholarships offered to student 19 athletes; and 20 (B) the renewal of athletic scholarships of- 21 fered to student athletes; 22 (5) how institutions of higher education finance 23 intercollegiate athletic programs, disaggregated by 24 competition level, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5528.IH H5528 7 •HR 5528 IH (A) the general measures taken by institu- 1 tions of higher education to finance intercolle- 2 giate athletic programs; 3 (B) whether student fees are used to fi- 4 nance intercollegiate athletic programs; 5 (C) whether general funds are used to fi- 6 nance intercollegiate athletic programs; 7 (D) whether institutions of higher edu- 8 cation receive funds and the amount of such 9 funds from— 10 (i) media contracts held by institu- 11 tions of higher education with respect to 12 intercollegiate athletic programs; 13 (ii) licensing agreements held by insti- 14 tutions of higher education with respect to 15 intercollegiate athletic programs; and 16 (iii) media conferences and other dis- 17 tributions held by an athletic governance 18 association; 19 (E) the amount of funds expended on 20 coaching salaries and facilities development for 21 intercollegiate athletic programs, disaggregated 22 by gender, race, sport, and competition level; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5528.IH H5528 8 •HR 5528 IH (F) policies held by athletic governance as- 1 sociations with respect to the amount expended 2 by institutions of higher education and the 3 number of athletic participation opportunities 4 provided by institutions of higher education to 5 comply with— 6 (i) title IX of the Education Amend- 7 ments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), 8 including— 9 (I) the percent of athletic partici- 10 pation opportunities offered to female 11 and male student athletes in compari- 12 son to the enrollment of female and 13 male non-student athletes, respec- 14 tively, at institutions of higher edu- 15 cation; and 16 (II) the percent of total athletic 17 scholarship funds offered to female 18 and male student athletes, respec- 19 tively; and 20 (ii) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 21 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), including— 22 (I) the percent of athletic partici- 23 pation opportunities for students with 24 disabilities compared to enrollment of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5528.IH H5528 9 •HR 5528 IH non-student athletes with disabilities 1 at institutions of higher education; 2 and 3 (II) the percent of total athletic 4 scholarship funds provided to student 5 athletes with disabilities; 6 (6) whether athletic governance associations re- 7 quire or encourage institutions of higher education 8 to be transparent in academic and financial matters 9 with respect to intercollegiate athletic programs, in- 10 cluding whether such institutions provide access to 11 relevant data for independent research or inclusion 12 in public reporting requirements; 13 (7) the interaction between athletic governance 14 associations and institutions of higher education, 15 with respect to— 16 (A) criteria for institutions of higher edu- 17 cation to receive financial support from an ath- 18 letic governance association; 19 (B) criteria for institutions of higher edu- 20 cation to participate in a post-season champion- 21 ship competition; 22 (C) the policies related to— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5528.IH H5528 10 •HR 5528 IH (i) whether criteria established under 1 subparagraphs (A) and (B) comply with 2 Federal law; 3 (ii) the award, renewal, or withdrawal 4 of athletic scholarship funds, including— 5 (I) multi-year financial aid 6 awards; 7 (II) whether cost of attendance is 8 considered during the renewal or with- 9 drawal of an athletic scholarship; 10 (III) whether awards of athletic 11 scholarships are equally available to 12 male and female student athletes; and 13 (IV) whether gender neutral 14 methods are used to determine eligi- 15 bility for an athletic scholarship; 16 (iii) the award, renewal, and with- 17 drawal of summer school financial assist- 18 ance for student athletes, including— 19 (I) whether awards of summer 20 school financial assistance are equally 21 available to male and female student 22 athletes; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5528.IH H5528 11 •HR 5528 IH (II) whether gender neutral 1 methods are used to determine eligi- 2 bility for such assistance; and 3 (iv) employment, earnings and bene- 4 fits, and personal representation by mar- 5 keting agents of student athletes, including 6 commercial compensation for the use of 7 the name, image, or likeness of student 8 athletes by themselves or institutions of 9 higher education attended by such athlete; 10 (8) policies held by institutions of higher edu- 11 cation with respect to recruitment and retention of 12 student athletes, including— 13 (A) policies governing the recruitment 14 process of student athletes, including policies 15 with respect to letters of intent; 16 (B) policies governing individuals allowed 17 to recruit prospective student athletes; 18 (C) policies governing the transfer and 19 dropout rate of student athletes; 20 (D) the impact of the policies identified in 21 subparagraphs (A) through (C) on prospective 22 student athletes; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5528.IH H5528 12 •HR 5528 IH (E) the contractual terms of an athletic 1 scholarship with respect to the ability of stu- 2 dent athletes to— 3 (i) transfer to different institutions of 4 higher education; and 5 (ii) participate in professional sports; 6 (9) oversight and guidance provided by athletic 7 governance associations on— 8 (A) academic support programs only avail- 9 able to student athletes, including tutoring and 10 academic advising services; and 11 (B) policies on the professional and ethical 12 conduct of coaches and staff associated with 13 student athletes; 14 (10) policies held by intercollegiate athletic pro- 15 grams that encourage diverse leadership of such pro- 16 grams; 17 (11) policies on the health and safety of student 18 athletes, including the impact of— 19 (A) medical policies implemented by ath- 20 letic governance associations, disaggregated by 21 gender, race, sport, and competition level; 22 (B) policies implemented by an intercolle- 23 giate athletic program to minimize the risk of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5528.IH H5528 13 •HR 5528 IH injury to student athletes, disaggregated by 1 gender, race, sport and competition level; and 2 (C) the provision of adequate athletic in- 3 jury insurance and medical services, including 4 the extent to which such insurance coverage is 5 provided beyond the exhaustion of athletic eligi- 6 bility, disaggregated by competition level; 7 (12) whether athletic governance associations 8 maintain a mechanism for addressing complaints 9 that ensures due process protections for an indi- 10 vidual accused and is equally enforced with respect 11 to— 12 (A) all student athletes, institutional em- 13 ployees, and representatives; 14 (B) student athletes accused of violence, 15 sexual abuse, sexual harassment, or criminal 16 conduct; 17 (C) the professional and ethical conduct of 18 coaches, athletic trainers, and other athletic de- 19 partment student development personnel; and 20 (D) student athletes or faculty a [Text truncated for display. 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