A pair of Republican congressmen introduced a bill Wednesday that would provide the NCAA, conferences and member schools with federal protection from legal challenges that stand in the way of their ability to govern college sports.
The Protect the Ball Act is sponsored by Reps. Russell Fry of South Carolina and Barry Moore of Alabama and is intended to provide a legal safe harbor for the entities that run college sports amid antitrust lawsuits. Fry and Moore are members of the House Judiciary Committee.
The NCAA and its four most powerful conferences — the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big Ten and Southeastern — are considering a settlement agreement that could cost billions. The lawsuit House v. NCAA — filed by former Arizona State swimmer Grant House in 2020 — seeks damages for college athletes who were denied the right to make money from sponsorship and endorsement deals going back to 2016, five years before the NCAA lifted its ban on name, image and likeness compensation.
Almost as problematic for the NCAA are recent lawsuits filed by states that attack some of the association’s most basic rules regarding eligibility related to recruiting inducements and student-athletes who have transferred multiple times.
The Protect the Ball Act would give the NCAA protection from litigation and allow the association and conferences to regulate areas such as recruiting, eligibility standards and the way college athletes are compensated for NIL deals.