Transcripts For CSPAN Senate Hearing On College Athletes Co

On cspans q a. Next, a hearing to examine the issue of College Athlete compensation. The Senate Health education and Labor Committee heard from College Athletic programs about how athletes could be compensated for their name, image, and likeness, which organization should oversee these decisions, and what implications it could have on the student athlete model. This is two hours and 15 minutes. [inaudible] good morning. The committee will come to order. There is no room for the public. The press is covering it as a pool. You can watch this on streaming or there will be an unedited recording that everyone can watch. All of our Witnesses Today and some senators are participating by videoconference. I would like to Say Something about masks. The office of attending physician has advised that senators and witnesses may remove their masks to talk into the microphones since our chairs are six feet apart. Thats why my mask is off when im not back here. Im grateful to the rules committee, the sergeant at arms, the press galley, the capitol police, and our Committee Staff for all their hard work to keep us safe and connected with one another. Senator marie and i will each have an opening statement. We will turn to our witnesses who we thank for being here today. We have four of them. We will ask you to summarize your marks in five minutes. Each senator will have five minutes for questions and answers. We will ask senators to keep the questions and answers within that five minute time. We have votes today beginning at 10 30. We wont interrupt the hearing. Will preside for a few minutes while i go vote and come back. The question for the hearing today is whether the traditional of the intercollegiate student athlete is worth preserving. If so, how to do so. Specifically, what will be the impact on the tradition. A growing number of states passed laws allowing commercial interests to pay student athletes for use of their name, image, and likeness. Ive had a couple of experiences that have helped form my opinions on the subject. First, in 1960 during my sophomore year in college, i was exercising on the universities track and a man with a large watch in his right hand came up. He introduced himself as the track coach. He asked my name. Did you run track in high school . I said, no sir. We didnt have a track team. Why dont you run 100 yards . I did. He said, thats very good. 10. 1. I have three really fast boys for the 400 yard relay. Why dont you be the fourth . So i joined the track team and our team set a record for the 440 yard relay. My job was to carry the baton for the first fast guy. , we wouldear sometimes practice with students from what was then called tennessee ami. They were pretty remarkable athletes. They included olympians. The coach had no scholarships to offer his team. Our track made it hard to establish fast times. Scraping together teams of nonscholarship athletes, the coach won several conference championships. His enthusiasm that day on the track gave me an experience that millions of americans have had pure get that of being an intercollegiate student athlete. Someone else who had that experience is also on this committee. Senator richard burr. We had a scholarship to play football at wake forest university. My experience on the track team taught me a number of lessons including this one. When joining a relay team, be sure to pick three runners better than you are. Thats not bad advice for how to be an effective senator. As the College Football season gets underway, even amid covid19, we are reminded of how important these games are to the student athletes, their institutions, and millions of spectators. This fascination with sporting competition is nothing new, according to the Night Commissions 1991 report on Intercollegiate Athletics. They said, the appeal of competitive games is boundless. In ancient times, men at war lay down their weapons to compete in the lipid games. People around the globe put aside their daily cares to follow the fortunes of their teams in the world cup. In the United States, the super bowl, world series, College Football, basketball tournaments attract millions. Sports have helped break down bigotry and prejudice in american life. Theyve helped integrate east and west, socialist and capitalist. Sport is shared across time and continents. Sports is also nothing new. The Knight Commission was established in 1989 to address scandals in College Sports that were shaking confidence. Timeust in big team collegiate athletics, but the institutions of Higher Education themselves. In 1929, a report from the Carnegie Foundation said recruiting have become corrupt. Professionals had replaced amateurs. Education was being neglected. Commercialism rained. Even before then, in response to criticism from teddy roosevelt. The National Collegiate Athletics Association had been formed to protect the safety of players and deal with corruption. My second experience forming an opinion about the subject we are talking about today came from my service on that Night Commission when i was president of the university of tennessee. Our Commission Recommendation was that the University President s take charge, assert themselves. Take charge of the huge amount of Television Money it attracted. Store academic and financial integrity into the program. As a result, over the next several years, academic standards became more stringent. Financial support for athletes increased. What is especially relevant to todays hearing is that despite the problems surrounding Intercollegiate Athletics then, the Night Commission strongly endorsed keeping the student athlete tradition. This is what the Night Commission said. I think its worth repeating. We reject the argument that the only realistic solution to the corruption is to drop the student athlete concept, put athletes on the payroll, and reduce or eliminate their responsibilities as students. Nothing to dohas with education. The purpose for which colleges and universities exist. Scholarship athletes are already paid in the most meaningful way possible, with a Free Education. The idea of Intercollegiate Athletics is that teams represent their institutions as true members of the student body and not his hired hands. Surely american Higher Education has the ability to devise a better solution to the problems of Intercollegiate Athletics than making professionals out of players which is no solution at all but an unacceptable surrender to despair. I hope those words from the Night Commission 30 years ago will guide how this congress deals with the newest issues threatening the concept of student athletes. Allowing commercial interests to pay athletes for the use of their name, image, and likeness. Already, four states have enacted laws sanctioning such payments in various forms. More than 30 states are considering such legislation. Is considering whether there ought to be congressional action. Our purpose today as the Senate Education committee is to inform the work of the Commerce Committee by considering the impact of such payments on the tradition of the student athletes. It would make sense to take a minute to consider exactly who and what we are talking about. Last year, there were 20 million about 6000tes in colleges and universities in the United States. Nearly 1100 of those 6000 colleges and universities are members of the ncaa. 460,000 young men and women participate in 24 different sports each year and about one quarter of one million contests. About 300 of those institutions play football and basketball at the highest level. Fewer than 2 of student athletes will go want to play professional sports. This means we are talking about approximately 9000 College Student athletes who compete in a few sports out of more than 460,000 College Athletes across 24 sports. The current controversy is primarily about an even smaller number, a small percentage of those 9000 students who play football, baseball, or mens or Womens Basketball and whose attractive them targets for recruiting officers offers that will combine their scholarship dollars with endorsement money. For example, an exceptional quarterback, picture, or running back might be offered a half Million Dollars. By a car dealership in the same town as a college with a bigtime football, baseball, or basketball program. Said, Night Commission student athletes are already paid in the most meaningful way, a Free Education. Athletic scholarships are limited to tuitions and fees, room and board, and require arelated books. This can add up to a lot of money. The university of tennessee estimates it spends about 115,000 dollars a year per student athlete, including room support, academic meals, Sports Medicine, training, travel, and equipment. Student athletes may combine other sources of financial aid, including federal or state needbased aid to cover the full cost of attendance. Grants, workpell studies, state grants based on a need, calculations such as tennessees hope scholarship, or veterans programs such as the g. I. Bill or post 9 11 g. I. Bill. Of the2,000, or 20 student athletes, received pell grants, which can be up to 62,000 more. According to the college board, the value of a lifetime degree is 1 million over an individuals lifetime. 88 of the ncaas student athletes graduate, earn a degree. Now to the question at hand, should congress act, or should varying state laws payment for named, image and likeness of student athletes . Is a set of regulations worth the confusion it would cause with unrestrained boosters, creative agents, the impact of title ix on men and womens programs, the coachs effort, and most of all, the tradition of the intercollegiate student athletes . Solving that question will be the job of the Commerce Committee. We can inform their decision with todays testimony and senators comments. Based on my experience as a student athlete, my time as University President and membership on the Night Commission, let me offer these suggestions. One, the Night Commission was correct to say student athletes should not be on the payroll and should not be treated as hired hands. Two, congress should act in a limited way as possible to authorize an independent entity safe from litigation to write rules governing payments for the use of names, image, and likeness. Usgress, imagine all 535 of doing this, should provide aggressive oversight of that rather than try and write those rules. Three, the governing entity should be the ncaa. I know the ncaa is controversial. So will every entity, or any entity that tries to write rules for intercollegiate student athletes. If the ncaa is not doing a good job, the president s of the universities in charge of it should reform it, giving the job to some existing entity, such as the federal trade commission, which does not have any expertise or responsibility for Higher Education, it makes no sense. Giving the job to a new entity would take forever. As to rules, which the ncaa should write, heres what i believe the overriding principle should be. Athletesd to student for the use of their name, image, and likeness should benefit all student athletes at that institution. Following this principle would allow the earnings to be used ,or additional academic support more Health Insurance options, more support for injured players, and other needs. It would avoid the awkwardness of a center who earns nothing snapping the ball to a quarterback who earns a half Million Dollars for promoting the local auto dealer. It avoids the inevitable abuse that would occur with agents and boosters involved with standing High School Athletes. It would avoid the unexpected consequences to other teams at an institution because of the impact of title ix or the impact on existing student aged athletes. Such a principle as i am suggesting preserves the right of any athlete to earn money for the use of his or her name, image, or likeness. Elect to says if you be a student athlete, your earnings should benefit all student athletes at your institutions. If you want to keep the money and be someones employee, go join a professional team. This system would create the same kind of choices that todays ncaa rules for College Baseball require. A High School Student will stay three years if he chooses to participate in a College Baseball program. We were talking before the hearing about virginia and vanderbilts baseball program. David price, sonny greig, familiar names to Major League Baseball fans. All very successful professional athletes now. All were drafted by Major League Baseball teams while they were in high school. They could have earned a lot of money going directly into professional baseball. Instead, they chose a vanderbilt education, three years of college experience, and the opportunity to be taught by coach tim corbin. If they had been permitted to sell their name, image, and likeness while at vanderbilt under the principal im suggesting, their earnings would have been used for the benefit of all of vanderbilt sports teams, men and women. Applying such a principle to all Intercollegiate Athletics might cause a few talented athletes to join professional leagues immediately after high school. That is their right. But if that young athlete prefers the college experience, the expert coaching and teaching , Free Education, other academic support, and additional 1 million in their lifetime that comes with earning a College Degree, their earnings should benefit all of the students of their institution. While the ncaa is making new rules, it should send most of the tv revenues for use in academic support for student athletes rather than continue to encourage the high salaries for some coaches. Ending toee a good allowing a few student athletes to be paid by commercial interests while most of their teammates are not. If Young Athletes want to be a part of the team and join the undergraduate experience, learn from coaches who are among the best teachers in the country, and be paid a full scholarship that helps them earn 1 million during their lifetime, then all student athletes at their institution should benefit. If that student athletes wants to keep the money for himself or herself, that student athlete should become a professional. I will now recognize senator murray for her opening statement. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Thank you to all of our witnesses for joining us for this hearing today. Before i speak on the hearing, i wanted to mention a few things. I just wanted to say i have been in very close contact with local leaders on the ground, the families in my home state of washington and the west coast are dealing with devastating fires wiping out communities and damaging air quality dramatically. I just want to publicly thank the many courageous First Responders and firefighters who are risking their lives to save our families and communities, and let them all know i am committed to doing everything i can to make sure local Fire Departments and officials in communities have everything they need to fight these fires. Its a long road to recovery. Secondly, i will take a moment to acknowledge your many decades of leadership on a vast number of issues, including on todays topic, which i know you have always been focused on. Throughout our time in the senate and running the committee lead to, you often important discussions on Critical Issues facing families across the country. I know i speak for all of the members when i say thank you for the manner in which you have partnered with me to run this committee. Especially now, to just go into our corners and not have a discussion about problems with the country. It demonstrates your commitment to this institution, and the importance of dialogue, that even now, you are facilitating discussions on topics like this. Committee benefit enormously from your experiences as governor, as president of the university of tennessee, and education secretary. By thankingart off you for all of your great work on this committee and in the senate. Together say, our work really means a lot to me, because while we do have different backgrounds, perspectives, and styles, we and the great members of this committee share our commitment to getting things done for families and communities who represent, we represent, and for our country. We want to continue the College Athlete<\/a> compensation. The Senate Health<\/a> education and Labor Committee<\/a> heard from College Athletic<\/a> programs about how athletes could be compensated for their name, image, and likeness, which organization should oversee these decisions, and what implications it could have on the student athlete model. This is two hours and 15 minutes. [inaudible] good morning. The committee will come to order. There is no room for the public. The press is covering it as a pool. You can watch this on streaming or there will be an unedited recording that everyone can watch. All of our Witnesses Today<\/a> and some senators are participating by videoconference. I would like to Say Something<\/a> about masks. The office of attending physician has advised that senators and witnesses may remove their masks to talk into the microphones since our chairs are six feet apart. Thats why my mask is off when im not back here. Im grateful to the rules committee, the sergeant at arms, the press galley, the capitol police, and our Committee Staff<\/a> for all their hard work to keep us safe and connected with one another. Senator marie and i will each have an opening statement. We will turn to our witnesses who we thank for being here today. We have four of them. We will ask you to summarize your marks in five minutes. Each senator will have five minutes for questions and answers. We will ask senators to keep the questions and answers within that five minute time. We have votes today beginning at 10 30. We wont interrupt the hearing. Will preside for a few minutes while i go vote and come back. The question for the hearing today is whether the traditional of the intercollegiate student athlete is worth preserving. If so, how to do so. Specifically, what will be the impact on the tradition. A growing number of states passed laws allowing commercial interests to pay student athletes for use of their name, image, and likeness. Ive had a couple of experiences that have helped form my opinions on the subject. First, in 1960 during my sophomore year in college, i was exercising on the universities track and a man with a large watch in his right hand came up. He introduced himself as the track coach. He asked my name. Did you run track in high school . I said, no sir. We didnt have a track team. Why dont you run 100 yards . I did. He said, thats very good. 10. 1. I have three really fast boys for the 400 yard relay. Why dont you be the fourth . So i joined the track team and our team set a record for the 440 yard relay. My job was to carry the baton for the first fast guy. , we wouldear sometimes practice with students from what was then called tennessee ami. They were pretty remarkable athletes. They included olympians. The coach had no scholarships to offer his team. Our track made it hard to establish fast times. Scraping together teams of nonscholarship athletes, the coach won several conference championships. His enthusiasm that day on the track gave me an experience that millions of americans have had pure get that of being an intercollegiate student athlete. Someone else who had that experience is also on this committee. Senator richard burr. We had a scholarship to play football at wake forest university. My experience on the track team taught me a number of lessons including this one. When joining a relay team, be sure to pick three runners better than you are. Thats not bad advice for how to be an effective senator. As the College Football<\/a> season gets underway, even amid covid19, we are reminded of how important these games are to the student athletes, their institutions, and millions of spectators. This fascination with sporting competition is nothing new, according to the Night Commission<\/a>s 1991 report on Intercollegiate Athletics<\/a>. They said, the appeal of competitive games is boundless. In ancient times, men at war lay down their weapons to compete in the lipid games. People around the globe put aside their daily cares to follow the fortunes of their teams in the world cup. In the United States<\/a>, the super bowl, world series, College Football<\/a>, basketball tournaments attract millions. Sports have helped break down bigotry and prejudice in american life. Theyve helped integrate east and west, socialist and capitalist. Sport is shared across time and continents. Sports is also nothing new. The Knight Commission<\/a> was established in 1989 to address scandals in College Sports<\/a> that were shaking confidence. Timeust in big team collegiate athletics, but the institutions of Higher Education<\/a> themselves. In 1929, a report from the Carnegie Foundation<\/a> said recruiting have become corrupt. Professionals had replaced amateurs. Education was being neglected. Commercialism rained. Even before then, in response to criticism from teddy roosevelt. The National Collegiate<\/a> Athletics Association<\/a> had been formed to protect the safety of players and deal with corruption. My second experience forming an opinion about the subject we are talking about today came from my service on that Night Commission<\/a> when i was president of the university of tennessee. Our Commission Recommendation<\/a> was that the University President<\/a> s take charge, assert themselves. Take charge of the huge amount of Television Money<\/a> it attracted. Store academic and financial integrity into the program. As a result, over the next several years, academic standards became more stringent. Financial support for athletes increased. What is especially relevant to todays hearing is that despite the problems surrounding Intercollegiate Athletics<\/a> then, the Night Commission<\/a> strongly endorsed keeping the student athlete tradition. This is what the Night Commission<\/a> said. I think its worth repeating. We reject the argument that the only realistic solution to the corruption is to drop the student athlete concept, put athletes on the payroll, and reduce or eliminate their responsibilities as students. Nothing to dohas with education. The purpose for which colleges and universities exist. Scholarship athletes are already paid in the most meaningful way possible, with a Free Education<\/a>. The idea of Intercollegiate Athletics<\/a> is that teams represent their institutions as true members of the student body and not his hired hands. Surely american Higher Education<\/a> has the ability to devise a better solution to the problems of Intercollegiate Athletics<\/a> than making professionals out of players which is no solution at all but an unacceptable surrender to despair. I hope those words from the Night Commission<\/a> 30 years ago will guide how this congress deals with the newest issues threatening the concept of student athletes. Allowing commercial interests to pay athletes for the use of their name, image, and likeness. Already, four states have enacted laws sanctioning such payments in various forms. More than 30 states are considering such legislation. Is considering whether there ought to be congressional action. Our purpose today as the Senate Education<\/a> committee is to inform the work of the Commerce Committee<\/a> by considering the impact of such payments on the tradition of the student athletes. It would make sense to take a minute to consider exactly who and what we are talking about. Last year, there were 20 million about 6000tes in colleges and universities in the United States<\/a>. Nearly 1100 of those 6000 colleges and universities are members of the ncaa. 460,000 young men and women participate in 24 different sports each year and about one quarter of one million contests. About 300 of those institutions play football and basketball at the highest level. Fewer than 2 of student athletes will go want to play professional sports. This means we are talking about approximately 9000 College Student<\/a> athletes who compete in a few sports out of more than 460,000 College Athlete<\/a>s across 24 sports. The current controversy is primarily about an even smaller number, a small percentage of those 9000 students who play football, baseball, or mens or Womens Basketball<\/a> and whose attractive them targets for recruiting officers offers that will combine their scholarship dollars with endorsement money. For example, an exceptional quarterback, picture, or running back might be offered a half Million Dollars<\/a>. By a car dealership in the same town as a college with a bigtime football, baseball, or basketball program. Said, Night Commission<\/a> student athletes are already paid in the most meaningful way, a Free Education<\/a>. Athletic scholarships are limited to tuitions and fees, room and board, and require arelated books. This can add up to a lot of money. The university of tennessee estimates it spends about 115,000 dollars a year per student athlete, including room support, academic meals, Sports Medicine<\/a>, training, travel, and equipment. Student athletes may combine other sources of financial aid, including federal or state needbased aid to cover the full cost of attendance. Grants, workpell studies, state grants based on a need, calculations such as tennessees hope scholarship, or veterans programs such as the g. I. Bill or post 9 11 g. I. Bill. Of the2,000, or 20 student athletes, received pell grants, which can be up to 62,000 more. According to the college board, the value of a lifetime degree is 1 million over an individuals lifetime. 88 of the ncaas student athletes graduate, earn a degree. Now to the question at hand, should congress act, or should varying state laws payment for named, image and likeness of student athletes . Is a set of regulations worth the confusion it would cause with unrestrained boosters, creative agents, the impact of title ix on men and womens programs, the coachs effort, and most of all, the tradition of the intercollegiate student athletes . Solving that question will be the job of the Commerce Committee<\/a>. We can inform their decision with todays testimony and senators comments. Based on my experience as a student athlete, my time as University President<\/a> and membership on the Night Commission<\/a>, let me offer these suggestions. One, the Night Commission<\/a> was correct to say student athletes should not be on the payroll and should not be treated as hired hands. Two, congress should act in a limited way as possible to authorize an independent entity safe from litigation to write rules governing payments for the use of names, image, and likeness. Usgress, imagine all 535 of doing this, should provide aggressive oversight of that rather than try and write those rules. Three, the governing entity should be the ncaa. I know the ncaa is controversial. So will every entity, or any entity that tries to write rules for intercollegiate student athletes. If the ncaa is not doing a good job, the president s of the universities in charge of it should reform it, giving the job to some existing entity, such as the federal trade commission, which does not have any expertise or responsibility for Higher Education<\/a>, it makes no sense. Giving the job to a new entity would take forever. As to rules, which the ncaa should write, heres what i believe the overriding principle should be. Athletesd to student for the use of their name, image, and likeness should benefit all student athletes at that institution. Following this principle would allow the earnings to be used ,or additional academic support more Health Insurance<\/a> options, more support for injured players, and other needs. It would avoid the awkwardness of a center who earns nothing snapping the ball to a quarterback who earns a half Million Dollars<\/a> for promoting the local auto dealer. It avoids the inevitable abuse that would occur with agents and boosters involved with standing High School Athlete<\/a>s. It would avoid the unexpected consequences to other teams at an institution because of the impact of title ix or the impact on existing student aged athletes. Such a principle as i am suggesting preserves the right of any athlete to earn money for the use of his or her name, image, or likeness. Elect to says if you be a student athlete, your earnings should benefit all student athletes at your institutions. If you want to keep the money and be someones employee, go join a professional team. This system would create the same kind of choices that todays ncaa rules for College Baseball<\/a> require. A High School Student<\/a> will stay three years if he chooses to participate in a College Baseball<\/a> program. We were talking before the hearing about virginia and vanderbilts baseball program. David price, sonny greig, familiar names to Major League Baseball<\/a> fans. All very successful professional athletes now. All were drafted by Major League Baseball<\/a> teams while they were in high school. They could have earned a lot of money going directly into professional baseball. Instead, they chose a vanderbilt education, three years of college experience, and the opportunity to be taught by coach tim corbin. If they had been permitted to sell their name, image, and likeness while at vanderbilt under the principal im suggesting, their earnings would have been used for the benefit of all of vanderbilt sports teams, men and women. Applying such a principle to all Intercollegiate Athletics<\/a> might cause a few talented athletes to join professional leagues immediately after high school. That is their right. But if that young athlete prefers the college experience, the expert coaching and teaching , Free Education<\/a>, other academic support, and additional 1 million in their lifetime that comes with earning a College Degree<\/a>, their earnings should benefit all of the students of their institution. While the ncaa is making new rules, it should send most of the tv revenues for use in academic support for student athletes rather than continue to encourage the high salaries for some coaches. Ending toee a good allowing a few student athletes to be paid by commercial interests while most of their teammates are not. If Young Athletes<\/a> want to be a part of the team and join the undergraduate experience, learn from coaches who are among the best teachers in the country, and be paid a full scholarship that helps them earn 1 million during their lifetime, then all student athletes at their institution should benefit. If that student athletes wants to keep the money for himself or herself, that student athlete should become a professional. I will now recognize senator murray for her opening statement. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Thank you to all of our witnesses for joining us for this hearing today. Before i speak on the hearing, i wanted to mention a few things. I just wanted to say i have been in very close contact with local leaders on the ground, the families in my home state of washington and the west coast are dealing with devastating fires wiping out communities and damaging air quality dramatically. I just want to publicly thank the many courageous First Responders<\/a> and firefighters who are risking their lives to save our families and communities, and let them all know i am committed to doing everything i can to make sure local Fire Departments<\/a> and officials in communities have everything they need to fight these fires. Its a long road to recovery. Secondly, i will take a moment to acknowledge your many decades of leadership on a vast number of issues, including on todays topic, which i know you have always been focused on. Throughout our time in the senate and running the committee lead to, you often important discussions on Critical Issues<\/a> facing families across the country. I know i speak for all of the members when i say thank you for the manner in which you have partnered with me to run this committee. Especially now, to just go into our corners and not have a discussion about problems with the country. It demonstrates your commitment to this institution, and the importance of dialogue, that even now, you are facilitating discussions on topics like this. Committee benefit enormously from your experiences as governor, as president of the university of tennessee, and education secretary. By thankingart off you for all of your great work on this committee and in the senate. Together say, our work really means a lot to me, because while we do have different backgrounds, perspectives, and styles, we and the great members of this committee share our commitment to getting things done for families and communities who represent, we represent, and for our country. We want to continue the Important Role<\/a> this committee and senate play, and we truly will miss you helping drive discussions like the one we are having today. Again and again over the years, you have come to work looking to solve problems, not score political points. So i know i speak for all Committee Members<\/a> on both sides of the aisle when i say you will be greatly missed. There is no better proof of your determination to work in a bipartisan way and do whatever it takes to find Common Ground<\/a> than the countless bills we have worked on together, and this committee has picked up, from the 21st century cares act, to the cte act, and the number of bills to address the opioid epidemic. Get by andmanage to large support from all of our colleagues. And millions of families for years to come will benefit from your work. So thank you. Today, im glad to have the opportunity to talk about College Athlete<\/a>s, which i know is personal to you as a former track and field star. And as we talked about the issue of compensating College Athlete<\/a>s, it is something you have been focused on. Im glad we are having this conversation today. I also want to thank senator murphy for pushing us to have this discussion today. This summer, our nation finally began to reckon with Police Brutality<\/a> and systemic racism in our country. A reality which so many have lived with their entire life. One of the many issues we are overdue to address is the exploitation of College Athlete<\/a>s, which has profound racial and Economic Justice<\/a> implications. The 15 billion College Sports<\/a> industry has been a glaring example of economic and racial inequity, one where the majority of athletes in division i, revenuegenerating sports are black, and officials make millions off of the labor of young College Athlete<\/a>s. And College Athlete<\/a>s bring in millions of dollars for colleges each year, stimulating local economies across the country, yet they are prohibited for receiving a penny in compensation. I know there are people who say a Free Education<\/a> is a privilege, or comforting compensating athletes will hinder them, or it will be the end of College Sports<\/a> as we know it. But the stories i have heard from many Young Athletes<\/a> in my home state of washington about the inequity and abuse they have experienced showed how our Current System<\/a> exploit Young Athletes<\/a>, particularly Young Athletes<\/a> of color. And it has to be reformed. I heard from the former allstar black colleges athlete in washington state, who before went pro, said he had to steal food from cafeterias and groceries because he was not allowed to work, and couldnt afford food. Thats a tough thing for someone to share. But he wanted everyone to know how difficult it can get for so many athletes. There are countless stories of College Athlete<\/a>s who had their futures thrown into jeopardy because they got injured and were not guaranteed longterm Affordable Health<\/a> care. In some instances, they might lose their scholarship and chance at an education. College athletes are struggling to manage their academic course loads and grueling daily schedules filled with workouts, practices, and games, while also facing food and economic insecurity. While the ncaa and member schools enter into billiondollar media deals, universities invest in lecturing facilities, coaches receive milliondollar salaries, and more. We should not accept that. I urge all of my colleagues in the senate to listen to the experiences of College Athlete<\/a>s, particularly College Athlete<\/a>s of color in their home states. Once you do, its impossible to deny change is needed. There are a lot of ways congress and other committees can act to protect College Athlete<\/a>s rights. First and foremost, we need to make sure College Athlete<\/a>s are fairly compensated. An important first step to that issue is allowing them to profit from the use of their names and image and likeness. And we have to ensure all athletes, men and women, get their fair share of the revenue they have to generate. Their compensation is just one part of protecting the rights of College Athlete<\/a>s, especially now as the covid pandemic rages on. Its crucial we establish enforceable health and Safety Standards<\/a>. If an athlete gets injured while playing their college, they should not be accepted to deal expected to deal with the Financial College<\/a> on that find out follow on their own. They should be guaranteed Affordable Health<\/a> care and that colleges take responsibility for Health Issues<\/a> related to an injury. And we absolutely need to give College Athlete<\/a>s the quality Educational Opportunities<\/a> and support they deserve. Too many College Athlete<\/a>s are being funneled into easy classes, sometimes even fake ones, because they simply dont have the time to complete coursework due to rigorous practice schedules, or arent finishing their degree. For back black athletes, regulation rates are significantly lower than white athletes. 55 of black male athletes from the power five conferences graduate within six years, compared to 70 of all College Athlete<\/a>s. Thats wrong and unacceptable. All College Athlete<\/a>s should receive the academic support they need to complete a quality education, and assurances their scholarships will not be revoked if they are injured. Its clear the status quo isnt working. It only serves those at the top. The ncaa should have addressed these issues long ago, but failed to do it. So Congress Must<\/a> face these challenges headon and offer solutions that end the Current System<\/a> of exploitation with the system that values College Athlete<\/a>svoices. Thank you for each of our witnesses who you will hear from shortly. In addition to these injustices right now, College Athlete<\/a>s and their peers are also dealing with a pandemic. The enormous uncertainty to Higher Education<\/a>. For students and everyone suffering through the pandemic, we cannot wait for another relief package. We have a lot of work to do. So im hoping the day can come when we can get started on a serious negotiation to reach an agreement that meets the dire needs we are hearing from our families and the communities we serve. Thank you. Thank you for your generous comments at the beginning. I think everyone knows we wouldnt have had the success we had as a committee of very disparate views if i had a mill working with a democratic Ranking Member<\/a> who used to be a Kindergarten Teacher<\/a> and who learned, as well as taught how to work well together. I will have more to say about that in a future hearing, but i appreciate those comments and the way we have had a chance to work together, including todays hearing. I want to acknowledge the efforts of senator murphy, who is here. Senator romney, senator burke, all of whom are among sanders, who had a real interest in senators who have had a real interest in these topics. Focusing onng Intercollegiate Athletics<\/a>, senator baldwin will introduce our first witness. Senator baldwin. Im pleased to introduce dr. Rebecca blake, chancellor of the university of wisconsin madison. She served as chancellor since 2013. Previously, she served as deputy secretary and acting secretary of commerce under president obama. She was also a member of the council of economic advisers under president clinton. Dean anderved as professor of Public Policy<\/a> and economics at the university of michigan, a faculty member of northwestern and princeton theersity, and a fellow at brookings institution. The university of wisconsin is a member of the big time, one of the power five conferences. With 23 varsity sports and approximately 800 participating students each year, chancellor blake was recently appointed the Ncaa Division<\/a> i board of directors. I look forward to hearing her insight today as part of todays important discussion about College Athletic<\/a>s and compensation. Welcome, chancellor blake. Thank you, senator baldwin. Our second witness is karen dennis, she served as director of track and field and Cross Country<\/a> at Ohio State University<\/a> for the past six years. She has been named big 10 coach of the year four times, was inducted into the hall of fame of u. S. Track and field and Cross Country<\/a> Coaches Association<\/a> in 2018. Sharing a bachelors degree in Public Affairs<\/a> and masters degree in physical education, senator romney will introduce our next witness. Thank you you, mr. Chairman. I have the honor to introduce john hartwell, Vice President<\/a> and Athletic Director<\/a> at utah State University<\/a>. Athlete whostudent played basketball at the citadel for more than five years, he had been director of athletics at utah state, and ensures his students have success both in the classroom and on the Playing Field<\/a>. Leadership, they have achieved a 5415 record in mens basketball. Utah State University<\/a> has claimed five Mountain West<\/a> regularseason championships and four postseason titles during his tenure. Impressive, utah states student athlete success in the classroom, with a 93 graduation 3. 3 six cumulative grade point average. 3. 36 grade point average. The highest in u. S. History. Division one a institution with 16 varsity teams. It offers 168 undergraduate degrees and 143 graduate degrees, and educates 28,000 students, one of whom is my grandson. Today, we examined the potential impact of the ncaas decision to allow student athletes to be compensated for the name, image, and likeness as former student athlete and certified public accountant, as an Athletic Director<\/a> at utah State University<\/a>, informed and firsthand perspective, which i look forward to hearing. Thank you. Witnessourth and final is the executive director of the National College<\/a> players association. He played College Football<\/a> at ucla, where he became an advocate for student athletes rights. His work has been featured on a numerous news programs, hes often quoted on espn and cbs sports promoting athlete compensation. He earned a bachelors degree in sociology and a master of Public Health<\/a> at ucla. We will now begin hearing from our witnesses. Chancellor blank, lets start with you. Chairman alexander, Ranking Member<\/a> murray, distinguished member of the committee, thank you for inviting me today. Thank you for the very kind introduction. Thegoing to text if i about collude testify about the collegiate model of athletics and the reform of student stability to earn income for their image and likeness. We provide a worldclass education to our students and how to be a chancellor. We are here today to discuss collegiate student athletes. I believe deeply in the student athlete role with an emphasis on student first. It is the right role for those who play sports in college. Only a small percentage of studentathletes compete after college. 3 dont go on to play professionally. So we need to prepare our athletes for careers off of the field. The university of wisconsin is a Strong Program<\/a> with esteemed athletes who perform well both in the classroom and in their sport. They not only compete for big national titles, but are also strong students. More than 350 has been named to the deans list each year. Last year, our student athletes majored in 84 different areas of study. The Graduation Rate<\/a> for our student athletes is 90 . All division i athletes, 88 . Like other universities, we provide broad support for our student athletes. Attendance,t of tuition, fees, books, and other expenses are all covered. Laptops,also receive tutoring, and access to dedicated dedicated education advisers. They have access to worldclass coaching, Mental Health<\/a>, sports psychologists, stateoftheart health care, including care that covers anything to years after they leave the university. Access to unlimited meals and staff. Nutrition advice and career counseling. We pay for degree completion at any school in the country for those who leave for professional sports but want to complete their degree later. However,ose benefits, are dwarfed by what they receive from their college education. I know the extent of literature on the returns to a college education. College graduates earn 1 million more than those with only a High School Degree<\/a> over their lifetime. The return to their College Degree<\/a> is by far the greatest benefit a student athlete receives. The Business Model<\/a> for College Athletic<\/a>s is greatly misunderstood by the public. We arent in College Sports<\/a> because of its potential to make money, at the university of wisconsin, only football and mens basketball are revenuegenerating sports. Our other 21 sports cost more money than they generate, but the value of our Academic Program<\/a> is the opportunities provided for students with many skills to compete. If we had to spend all of our revenue in our revenue producing sports, im not sure we choose to run an Athletic Program<\/a>. In recent years, theres been a lively discussion about allowing students to generate income from name, image, and likeness. Other students had this opportunity, and i support finding ways for student athletes to do so, as well. Id like to discuss the parameters of what that should look like. While we need congressional help, any legislation should improve a situation for students, not make it worse. They have endorsed a set of principles we hope you all consider. We need congress to pass federal legislation and need it before july of 2021, when the first state law goes into effect. We cannot function under a hodgepodge of state laws now being passed that will make it difficult for a level Playing Field<\/a> for improvement or competition. Two, federal legislation must include a grant over the state laws already enacted. In addition, we need a narrowly tailored antitrust inspection. Three, we must protect college recruiting. Student athletes should have new avenues for payments from third parties for name, image, and likeness, but they should be out of the recruiting process. We must avoid pay for play. Our student athletes are not professional athletes, and should not be paid to participate in sports. Student athletes are not university employees. The First Priority<\/a> is to be students working towards a College Degree<\/a>. The division i board of directors is developing new rules for student athletes that will come to the board for consideration later this year. I value the work in congress in construction of a natural framework and getting the tools we need to get that to work. We should not wait on the ncaa process. I hope once you agree on a standard, you will provide us with the Legal Protection<\/a> needed for us to implement your decision. Thank you very much. Thank you. Karen dennis, welcome. Thank you, chairman alexander. I would like to say your performance in 1960 would still be pretty good 60 years later. Ranking member murray and distinguished members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. As one whos been engaged in sports over the past six decades nown athlete, coach, and one of the women to preside as director of daul gender track and field program, im happy to provide some insight. My parents were both collegeeducated. My mother was a schoolteacher, my father a detroit employee. My father was an outstanding high jumper and sprinter, who competed with the great jesse owens, a renowned buckeye. I graduated with a bachelors and masters degree. I was the first woman at Michigan State<\/a> in track and field to receive an athletic grant in aid of a whopping 300. I was head coach of Michigan State<\/a>, unlv, and the 2000 u. S. Womens track and field olympic team. Lim the director of track and field at Ohio State University<\/a>. The department of athletics offers 36 intercollegiate sports, 17 women, 16 men, and rico it. Approximately 1000 student athletes. Only two programs, football and mens basketball, actually generate a profit. Revenue from these programs is what makes it possible for programs like mine to exist. Ohio states Athletic Department<\/a> is one of approximately 20 nationwide, it is selfsustaining, receives no university funds, tax dollars, or student fees. Ive been fortunate to have witnessed and been a benefactor to the changes in collegiate sports over the past several get decades. Athlete experience has been extremely enhanced. Lawsates begin to enact governing student compensation, i would like to offer some insight on the impact, pay to play, and name, image, and likeness could have on our students and University Sports<\/a> teams. Im a strong supporter of the temperatures as a model of collegiate athletes. Making them employees of their universities would have serious negative consequences on College Sports<\/a> and the student athlete. I fear once enrolled, student athletes would prioritize athletic performance to the detriment of their academics and athletics. The cause of funding pay to play would result in smaller squad sizes, thereby eliminating competitive audit student competitive opportunities for these students. It would force many Athletic Department<\/a>s to completely eliminate nonrevenuegenerating sports, such as track and field. I also support the ncaas efforts to allow name, image, and likeness opportunities for student athletes consistent within the collegiate athlete model. I believe it will serve a broader base of students while embracing the successful ncaa amateur sports structure. Given the opportunity to brand themselves while in college with technical, intellectual, tangible, and Legal Resources<\/a> at their disposal, a greater number of student athletes will leave School Better<\/a> prepared for life and global citizenship. Certain guardrails and Education Programs<\/a> must be put in place to appropriately support the student athlete. Comes,wfound nil revenue and probably, unexpected tax liabilities and unexpected financial implications that could affect an athletes ability for some programs. Social Media Opportunities<\/a> must be properly vetted by both the student athlete and institution with appropriate privacy protections put into place. At ohio state, we place great emphasis on life after sports through the Eugene B Smith<\/a> leadership institute, which provides leadership, character, and Career Development<\/a> opportunities for all student athletes in order to best prepare them for life after graduation. There are serious benefits and concerns for student athletes as Compensation Opportunities<\/a> become reality. Policymakers should be encouraged to hear multiple viewpoints to ensure that the appropriate structure supports student athletes and protects the temperatures as a model, which has been important to the collegiate experience of millions of athletes. Thank you again for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to answering any questions you may have. Thank you for being here today. Mr. Hartwell, welcome. Thank you, chairman alexander, Ranking Member<\/a> murray, and distinguished members of the committee. Thank you for inviting me to testify on this topic today. Collegiate athletics have played an important part in my life. Education, experiences, relationships, and life Lessons Learned<\/a> over four years as a student athlete many years ago have been invaluable to me over the last 37 years. The most rewarding aspect of my job is being able to facilitate and provide lifechanging opportunities through collegiate athletics to others, just as i was fortunate to be given many years ago. My primary responsibility as director of athletics is to provide the tools and resources necessary for our student athletes to be successful in the classroom and on the fields of play. As senator romney so graciously pointed out, at utah state, we are winning in the classroom and on the fields of play. In addition to the championships won and the high grade point averages, the graduation success rates, we have also finished in the top 25 in the country over the last five years in football, mens basketball, mens crosscountry, and mens track and field. In addition to the 2020 nfl draft, quarterback jordan love was the only nonautonomous power five conference student athlete selected. So there are a lot of things going on at utah State University<\/a>. I do want to talk about the financial side of College Athletic<\/a>s. I will throw back on my cpa hat to talk about that. Theating budgets for highest level of football playing institutions, which there are 100 30, range from 16 million to over 200 million in annual budgets. At utah state, our budget is around 36 million. Of that 36 million, 13 million in revenues are generated through football and mens basketball. Conversely, for expenditures, we spend about 11. 5 Million Dollars<\/a> annually on football and mens basketball. One important consideration in the collegiate funding model is title ix. Revenues from football and mens basketball help Fund Scholarships<\/a> in many sports, including for female student athletes, which are required by title ix compliance. To me, the greatest victory a student athlete can achieve during their collegiate experience is when they walk across the stage to get a degree. Once earned, that degree can never be taken away. As you heard from other witnesses, that degree can often ind to Financial Success<\/a> your life going forward, regardless the field of competition they going to. They go into. Be takenic career can away whether by illness or injury in the flash of a nine. The importance of getting that degree is in the flash of and i. The importance of getting that degree is important. Education opportunities for student athletes, many of whom would not be able to afford these opportunities without athletic scholarships. The evolving needs of student athletes have been addressed in recent years with additional benefits being allowed by ncaa bylaws to include cost of andndance, stipends, the most recent iteration is name, image, and likeness. The concept of allowing student athletes the ability to profit from their name, image, and likeness just as any other student on campus has the ability to makes total sense. However, this opportunity does not need to become the path to pay for play, which would erode the collegiate model, which is so important to us. Key elements to consider when thinking about name, image, and likeness are these. The percentage of student athletes likely to generate money from name, image, and likeness endorsements and sponsorships is a very small percentage of the total number of student athletes that compete. At the division i level, we have an average of 180,000 students who compete. Those whonture to say generate significant income off of name, image, and likeness is a very small fraction of that. We also have to be careful of the unintended consequences of name, image, and likeness. Major recruiting violations have the opportunity to increase dramatically. It would be very difficult to monitor compensation and ethics, especially when funneled through thirdparty entities. Title ix can be a significant challenge based on the makeup of who would be receiving these benefits. Also, revenues that benefit all student athletes on a campus, such as apparel and footwear deals, or corporate reduce every may benefit for student athletes and be channeled to a select few student athletes. I think the important point is the financial challenges will likely be the most severe at limited resource institutions. Weve got to have recruiting guardrails put in place to make sure they are in place for collegiate athletics as it relates to nil. Recruitment of Prospective Student<\/a> athletes has to be safeguarded by the ncaa to maintain any type of competitive balance. In conclusion, we need congress to pass legislation on nil to provide a consistent National Framework<\/a> and ensure collegiate institutions and student athletes are not forced to navigate different state guidelines on the topic. We would ask for swift, preemptive federal legislation to offset the individual state laws. I realize Higher Education<\/a> may not be for everyone. And baseball and hockey, which have very strong minorleague programs, they are alternatives if athletes in these sports dont decide to go to college. We need to work with the nfl, nba, wnba, and other professional leagues to further study minorleague Development Systems<\/a> as an option for those athletes not inclined for Higher Education<\/a>. As we navigate through unprecedented and challenging times in our country, including the covid19 pandemic and social we musttical unrest, safeguard the overwhelming positive impact of College Athletic<\/a>s and its structure tethered to Higher Education<\/a>. On behalf of my fellow Athletic Director<\/a>s, i want to express our appreciation for your attention to name, image, and likeness impact on collegiate athletics going forward. We believe theres a way to provide additional Income Opportunities<\/a> for student athletes through nil while preserving the collegiate model and student athletes amateur status. Thanks to each of you for your dedicated service and interest in this important topic. Thank you. Mr. Houma, welcome. Good morning. The executive director of the National College<\/a> players association, which served as the primary advocate for the nil laws, and the other states pursuing resolution. I would like to thank chairman alexander and Ranking Member<\/a> murray for allowing me to testify. Eachcpas opposition to conference proposal is in my written testimony. Over the last couple of months, we have seen colleges opposition to Racial Injustice<\/a> in policing and other areas, which is positive. Is based on itself Racial Injustice<\/a>. The ncaa uses amateurism as cover for generational wealth from predominantly black athletes from lower income households to pay for lavish salaries and predominantly white for directors and administrators. Amateurismsism cost football revenues as a reason to continue College Football<\/a> in the pandemic without uniform Safety Standards<\/a>. The claim education is a top priority is also exposed as false. Colleges cut Education Opportunities<\/a> while paying coaches opportunities millions of dollars. I urge congress to support this system new they give athletes Economic Freedom<\/a>s would be impossible to govern. Theyve demonstrated the ability to comply with an everchanging array of covert orders issued by forrnors and counties players to play in pandemic. College athletes Economic Freedom<\/a>. [inaudible] concludedurts have that a level Playing Field<\/a> does not exist under ncaa rules. Colleges the most revenues with the most revenues have the largest recruiting budgets, best coaches, build the best facilities, and get the best recruits. Win the most games, get the most tea videos, which allows them to continue their dominance. In 2019, Ohio State University<\/a> earned 209 million in athletics revenue. Utah state earned 35 million. Preseason football rankings at ohio state were number two in the nation. Utah state was ranked 95th. College athletes shouldnt be forced to sacrifice Economic Freedom<\/a> and rights, ss so the ncaa can pretend a level Playing Field<\/a> exists. Players would have to be credited as a revenue new if revenues were needed for other sports to exist, the Ncaa Division<\/a> ii would not exist, but it does. Do not haveools enough revenue to subsidize other sports. College athletics wouldnt exist, either, but they do. They simply dont stand a extravagantly like the regional schools. Weve conducted an analysis finding that in 2017, the average division i college spent about 34 million a year more than the average college to the same sports. This means they are not necessary to building the division i schools. Over the revenues exploded 5 billion between 2003 and 2018, the number of athletes decreased by over 300. The number of assistant coaches increased by over 1500. Administrative expenses skyrocketed to over 1 billion. Its clearly unnecessary to hire more coaches and administrators for fewer athletes. 4 million per school expenditures can be used to compensate College Athlete<\/a>s while clearly complying with title ix and preserving all nonrevenue scores. It could come from conferences or athletic associations, all it would take is for colleges to have some expend cut expenditures, coaches, and lavish facilities. We are asking congress not to adopt a narrow nil law designed to reduce Economic Freedom<\/a>s. College athletes dont need congress to secure nil freedoms. States across the nation are already enacting equitable loss. We ask congress to enact a muchneeded broadbased reform to bring forward the enforcement of health and Safety Standards<\/a>, to end sexual abuse, and practices that harm College Athlete<\/a>s. Prevent them from being with medical expenses, improve Graduation Rate<\/a>s, and allow players to share in revenue generated. And we will allow compensation that extends, not undermines. We are grateful to the group of senators who put forward the legislative framework and bring forward broadbased reform for College Sports<\/a>. We support that 100 . Thank you. Thanks to all of the witnesses. Votes have begun. We will continue the hearing and alternate so we can go to the floor. Ill begin a five minute round of questions. I would ask senators and witnesses to keep each senators time within five minutes. Coachesbout salaries. And the issue of name, image, and likeness we are talking about may be slightly different, but i agree it would be a ,ractical move for the ncaa particularly in a precovid situation, where Television Revenues<\/a> were about to explode to require most of that revenue to go to the benefit of student raise thenot to salaries of coaches around the country. Andme take that principle apply it to name, image, and likeness. Why hasnt baseball come pretty close to getting it right . I mentioned some of the great vanderbilt baseball players, sunny gray, david price, kumar rocker is there now. From highaduated school, he had a choice to make. He could have gone straight into Major League Baseball<\/a>, and probably played in the Minor Leagues<\/a> for a little while, or he could have gone to vanderbilt, got a vanderbilt degree, coached by tim corbin, enjoyed the undergraduate experience, but he had to stay for three years. Why shouldnt we say of some auto dealer in nashville wants to sponsor the name, image, and likeness of sunny gray when he was there, why shouldnt those earnings go to all of the student athletes at vanderbilt instead of to the pitcher . Why shouldnt we simply say that that jeopardizes the intercollegiate athletic experience for student athletes, and that if a pitcher, running back, or quarterback wants to be sponsored individually by someone, they can become a professional . They might find even if they are a very good quarterback, they will learn a lot more money from the local auto dealer if they are a quarterback for the university of alabama than if they are for a class a in the football league. Why not make the choice a lot like the baseball choice, where you have a right to earn it, but if you earn it and elect to be a student athlete, that money goes to all the student athletes . If you elect to keep it, then you become a professional. Mr. Hartwell . Mr. Chairman, that model exists in some extent right now as it relates to the example i used earlier, whether it is footwear and apparel rights as a relates to nike or adidas, and if they were allowed to do individual deals. I will go back to my original example, jordan love, our highest paid student athlete, we would have a select few student athletes who would be able to command those types of revenues, and in all likelihood, as a relates to footwear and apparel companies, they could diminish the amount they were providing to the institution and instead funnel it to the individual who they thought had the greatest opportunity to go forward, be professional, and have a greater return on that investment for them. In that example, in all likelihood, you would not be able to provide two or three pairs of shoes and practice gear theuniforms for all individuals on your track and field team, or your gymnastics team, things like that. So those are the challenges that are there. And also, in baseball, youve had the opportunity with baseball and hockey, they have robust minorleague systems that they allow those students not inclined to pursue Higher Education<\/a>, or want to go directly to the professional ranks, that opportunity. In a lot of cases, it minimizes the issues in those sports. What would the impact be would it be better to allow any endorsement money to be spent among all studentathletes, or should the individual student keep it . Thank you for that question, senator. Im not sure how to answer that. I think name, image, and likeness are two different classes of student athletes that can really make money off of their name, image, and likeness. However, i do think all student athletes can benefit from the Financial Literacy<\/a> and educational components, including Financial Literacy<\/a>, how to brand and sell, create a brand, brand themselves brand themselves, create a brand, and brand themselves for after college. I think there are two different sets of athletes that will be affected by name, image, and likeness. However, all of them can benefit from it. Thank you. Im going to try and stick close to my five minutes to set a good example. Senator murray. Senator murray is voting. Is senator casey available . Burr. R thank you, mr. Chairman, thank you to all of our Witnesses Today<\/a>. I happen to be one of two scholarship collegiate scholarship players in the u. S. Senate. I may not know much about this, but it entitles me to an opinion. I have been somewhat outspoken on the fact i think this is a huge mistake, and have expressed that to my colleagues and the ncaa. Thate say to all of you this is an issue that could not be reversed if we made the wrong move. There is no do over. So i would turn to you, mr. Huma, and ask since your organization is predominately funded by the united steelworkers of america, what is in their interest in name and likeness in this issue . Thank you for the question. We have had tremendous support from the steelworkers for almost 20 years now. As i mentioned, some of the progress we have made over the years really cannot have happened without their support. I cant speak on their behalf, but they demonstrated clearly that they support our cause, that the issue is about workers who dont have workers rights, trying to navigate that space. They are not great fans of College Sports<\/a>. They are out promoting some type of equity they think is being treated. As a scholarship athlete, its almost an out of body experience to figure out how a professional athlete that gets paid millions of dollars was cheated somehow in college because they got an education, and now have an opportunity for an income. I will turn to chancellor blank. Im sure that your school, like every school, when covid hit and decisions were made not to have fall sports for some, athletic budgets were reviewed, and you began to look at the impact of losing their revenue from fall sports. Specificity,ut because i dont want to ask something of wisconsin, the ohio state, or utah state that is proprietary, but how would that have impacted nonrevenue sports, or how might it impact nonrevenue sports, which are predominantly womens teams . Universities, we use the revenue that comes in from our Athletic Program<\/a> to support the entire Athletic Program<\/a>. Its not unlike the rest of my university, where i have certain units like business or engineering, where they generate more income. But i need some of that revenue to support firstclass history and Political Science<\/a> and language programs. To supportwe want the broadbased Athletic Program<\/a>, and our revenue, all of which goes back into the students and the program. Cuthen covid hit, we did athletic budgets. None of our teams are competing in the fall. The big ten has postponed its season because of health concerns. Equallyhe programs were affected by this, just as they are all equally benefited by the revenue any team generates. Were privy tou the budget calculations made at the ohio state. How would that have impacted your track and field and Cross Country<\/a> teams . There is no way that we would have a track and field team if a pay for play kind of model existed, where the majority of the revenue the majority of money that could be paid to our high visibility student , it would not allow our nonrevenue scorers to fund, or even just have the same number of student athletes on each team. Each team may have to reduce the werer of participants who denied collegiate athletic experience for hundreds of students, and or sports would be dropped. Ten,recently in the big minnesota, due to covid and the Economic Impact<\/a> on their athletic budget, they had to drop their mens track and field team. Its happening in some of the mac conferences, where teams are being dropped. So it would have a really devastating effect on how programs would be able to exist. Lastly, you are the Athletic Director<\/a>, where the buck stops. You have to make the tough decisions. I think you said your athletic budget total was 63 million, which is dwarfed by many of the institutions around the country. How would that have impacted womens sports at utah state specifically if you lost your revenue sports, if significant changes happen in your revenue stream . We have had to spread the wealth. Our budget iterations have gone million, to 35 million, to 27 million as a result of covid19. Correction in collegiate athletics. When this all started for us in march, the priorities we had to protect were sports and scholarships. 16 division i in sports, which is the ncaas minimum, so its not an option for us. And we want to protect our student athletes. So across the board, whether it is mens or Womens Basketball<\/a> or football, or our olympic sports, including all of the womens sports, start taking an equal share and help us get to the other side of the pandemic. I think all of our witnesses. My time has expired i thank all of our witnesses. My time has expired. Senator casey. I want to thank the ranking today. For the committee i think the covid crisis has shined a brighter light on the economic inequities that continue to permeate our society and has made clearer than ever the urgent need to address them. Today we are discussing a College Athlete<\/a> model in need of reform. I think thats an understatement. To ensure it justly benefits the athletes it is meant to serve. Its a system whose shortcomings disproportionately affect athletes of color who are generating enormous revenues for the colleges and universities they represent, whether it is playing football, basketball, or other sports. I think we have to keep in mind, at least four broad goals. To ensure the revenues generated by athletes are more equitably distributed, number two, ensure College Athlete<\/a>s are safe, healthy, and best practices are not just talked number three, improve economic outcomes for College Athlete<\/a>s. And number four, ensure athletes voices are heard and they have a say in decisions that affect their wellbeing and futures. We know that millions of americans love College Sports<\/a> and love the players that probably represent their schools. Weve got to make sure the sports we love do right by those who play them. Let me start with i will have a question for the whole panel. I wanted to start with a question for mr. Huma. You described how health and Safety Standards<\/a> are not uniform across schools and are not enforced identically across schools. You have also spoken about how the issue is not the information on best practices does not exist, but its not being implemented. Its critical we do all we can to keep athletes healthy and safe not just during this pandemic, but during the course of the regular competition. Can you speak in greater detail about player safety issues where best practices are known, known but not implemented . And, secondly, about the consequences for athletes regarding this lack of action. Mr. Huma thank you for the question. In 2001, there were one of which the Minnesota Vikings<\/a> offensive lineman died of heat illness. The difference between the nfl and ncaa sports, in nfl, they implemented best practice guidelines and made them enforceable. In College Sports<\/a>, the ncaa refused to do so. I played in ucla. I had no idea that ncaa did not enforce health and Safety Standards<\/a> and still does not. Unfortunately, there continues to be deaths like heat illness and other preventable issues. Sicklecell, concussions. Even with all the different attention to discus concussions, to this day, it is not against ncaa rules for a football coach to force a player back in with a concussion on national television. That will not come to anyones rescue. Along with the Sexual Assault<\/a> we have seen that many of these institutions. It is a major ongoing problem. Panel,sey for the whole and i know this answer will have to be short we know the system has to be improved. We also have to work towards a system that treats athletes fairly and make sure we listen to the voices of these athletes. Heres a question for all the witnesses. What do you believe are the two or three most important changes we can make to the current model of College Athletic<\/a>s to ensure players are treated equitably and responsive to their voices. We can go in order of testimony. Start, in that case. The bigant to say ten which is the group i am most familiar with. Gameve observers in any who is observed to have any concussion like illness. We care a great deal about safety and best practices. I found this statement wrong, i need to start by saying that. Your question the main topic is name and likeness. The most important thing the federal government can do with legislation is set National Standards<\/a> for how name and likeness should work. We can enforce those laws. Safeguard the students status and help us address the title ix issues so this does not get caught up in title ix in a differenicult ways those of the. Those are the things we are asking for in terms of federal legislation in the near future. Sen. Casey the other answers can be way of written admissions. Chair alexander i think senator casey for that. Senator paul is recognized. Changeul advocates of are beseeching congress for federal regulation on College Sports<\/a>. What you wish for. The history of government it is a soft touch which may ultimately morph into a heavy hand. What happened to the democraticsocialist of america when universities become coops or communes . Will president s and secretaries and coaches and players sa laries be equalized . Be careful what you wish for. I think it is a terrible, rotten, no good idea to federalize College Sports<\/a>. The ncaa should make their own rules. If the ncaa needs exception from antitrust rules to create these rules, i can support that. But, setting federal rules for College Sports<\/a> is a huge mistake. Advocates of federal lysing College Sports<\/a> argue, oh, a hodgepodge of rules and all the different states have rules. We hear this from the Business Community<\/a> and i have opposed it steadfastly. Federalizing the rules are a mistake. They may morph into something that is intolerable. The argument also ignores that the ncaa is particularly poised to propagate nationwide rules because losing membership in the significantly enforces a nationwide rule on name, image and likeness. I would propose we should not involve washington. We should not involve congress. It is a mistake to take us away from the ncaa and those who represent the ncaa from colleges. My argument is if you choose not to obey the anncaa rules and they kick you out, it will be hard to get players. It will be hard to have an accepted program if you dont obey the rules. This should be left to the ncaa. I wont ask any questions and i will only take a couple of minutes. I would suggest if we do another hearing like this, we ought to get somebody on the committee who actually thinks it is a bad idea to federalize College Sports<\/a> and there is an argument to be made for the ncaa doing this on their own. Thank you and i yield back my time. Chair alexander senator murphy. You forphy thank bringing us here together today. Im a huge College Sports<\/a> fan. I cant help but have noticed this has turned into a 15 billion industry over the course of the last 15 years. In that time, it has gone from a 5 billion industry to 15 billion industry. It is the only multibilliondollar industry in this country where we allow for the employers to collude in order to fix the wages of the majority of their employees. Thats whats going on here. We can say that the workers, the athletes should be happy with the cost of tuition, but thats not how the free market works. And, to me, its just pretty listen to a coach make 5 million a year tell his athletes they should be ok with simply the cost of tuition. For all of those in this body who believe in the free market, i dont know why we decide to keep it from athletes who are producing an incredibly, an increasingly valuable service. The argument is they arent athletes, layard workers. They are actually just students who happen to play a sport. And the argument from senator alexander and others is that if they want to be pros, just gobi bep pros. I want to start with you, mr. Huma, to understand of those two arguments hold up. I want to make sure i have a minute remaining to ask one additional question of chancellor blank. Quick answers if you could. Can a High School Football<\/a> player who wants to go to the nfl and make money, whos ready to do so, can they do that . No, they get that from college. Its a big business. Even from there, just to say go pro, less than 10 go i 2 go te nfl. Dont get anwho opportunity to get their fair share of the industry. Hundreds of thousand dollars a year briefly. Million. E has 209 they cannot ship if they were to share that with the athletes that they suddenly have to cut sports. Other colleges in the same scareon you get these tactics even from the top producers. Sen. Murphy lets be clear, you dont have a choice as a highvalue High School Athlete<\/a> . You cannot just go to the nfl. You cannot go to the nba. You have to make a stop along the way in the big business of College Sports<\/a> because theres a lot of folks who make millions of dollars depending on it. Are these students like all other students . How many hours a week are our five Football Player<\/a>s spending on athletics . If theyre students and then on the site athletes, id expect they would be putting in five, 10 hours a week on athletics. How many hours a week are some of these power five students putting into these athletics . Mr. Huma the average fbs Football Player<\/a> spends 44 hours per week on their sport alone. You go to the other athletes, well over 30 hours a week. To pretend that academics are first. These are athletes that have to schedule their entire coursework around athletics. They oftentimes have to miss games and other sports. That is the true nature of College Sports<\/a>. Sen. Murphy so, they dont have the choice to gopro. Pro. They are Athletes First<\/a> and students second. Lets be honest about that. Finally in the minute i have remaining, to chancellor blank i have heard the argument from you and others that if you were forced to pay College Athlete<\/a>s, at least in sports like football and basketball that make money, then you couldnt afford to run the other sports. I think mr. Huma did a good job explaining there are other institutions from high school to division iii colleges that managed to run sports programs without an making any money, so im not sure how you couldnt adopt a model that is less professional looking. Let me make the argument to you that you dont have to reallocate money at all outside your football program. Your head coach of the university of wisconsin makes 4 million a year. Whats the problem with just paying him the salary of an average member of congress and taking those additional dollars and divvying up amongst those who play for him . That wouldnt affect the rest of your College Sports<\/a>, just reallocating money within the football program. Blank we have been quoted as being quite critical of paying coaches. As i noted earlier, it is very hard to find people who have top coaching skills, whether in college or professional sports. We used to restrict College Coach<\/a> salaries in the ncaa. There was a lawsuit on an antitrust grounds that we lost. Have then, College Coach<\/a>es competed up the market. I would be more than happy i have said this publicly it would allow us to restrict coaches salaries. I think that is appropriate for College Sports<\/a>. I think it is somewhat highestus that the state employee in many states is the state football coach. Sen. Murphy you are not allowed to restrict College Coach<\/a>es, but you are allowed to be able to restrict the compensation of athletes. That is patently absurd to me, and it is one of the reasons why this committee has to be engaged with the Commerce Committee<\/a>. Chair alexander the senators time has expired. Senator cassidy. He may be having some technical problems. Sen. Cassidy im walking on the street right now so the next senator for questions. Chair alexander thank you. Senator romney. Sen. Romney my concern about athlete compensation has been focused less upon the 2 of the pros who can make a lot of money. I know it makes sense that its not fair that these top athletes are not getting paid their full market value. I recognize that. I appreciate that concern. My biggest concern has been the 98 who play on the Football Team<\/a> or Basketball Team<\/a> and putting it as much as 5, 6 hours a day in practice and never getting to the pros. They are making an enormous sacrifice and doing so for the love of the sport and probably hope that they could go on to the pros. It seems unfair that they have to endure the kind of sacrifice that they carry out without the prospect of additional compensation. I have spoken with the ncaa about that matter and they say our challenge is to provide any additional compensation to the members of these teams, makes them effectively under federal law, employees and therefore subject to employment law. There would be subject to age discrimination, wrongful termination. You can get cut by the team and sue the team. Mr. Huma, is a dear thought that these College Athlete<\/a>s might appropriately join a union . Mr. Huma i think if there are recognize what they do, dnenied the right to a labor law. In terms of the different laws of competition, there are many out there. Players could receive money directly from the Media Outlets<\/a> which has nothing to do with employee status. Even the conferences, the association. There are ways to look at this and consider those different aspects. Again, i think that there are pretty realistic and easy models to consider that dont get into some of the more challenging issues that might not have full support of congress. Moneyre there to provide for the university. They spent a lot of time. That is a possibility as well. Sen. Romney i think the point is, i have a sense why the steelworkers would be interested in this topic. A unionization of College Athlete<\/a>s which would be a real revenue generator for a union. This, i think, is the reason why and senator paul raises the question about why the federal government is looking at this. The ncaa has come to the federal government and says we could solve this, but we run up against all sorts of federal law and federal regulation. We need to have help to understand what you want us to do and guidance. Because obviously, the colleges are not interested in having the athletes become union members, to be subject to employment law, wrongful termination, age discrimination. All the sorts of things that makes it difficult to run an Athletic Program<\/a>. My own inclination is the right course here is to find a way to provide additional compensation to members of teams for those that are the 2 , if you will. Either that might be able to get name and likeness but limited to 50,000 a year. Or allow them to go pro. You indicated, well, they cannot go pro in football. But, my guess is it would be easier for football to change that and to follow more the baseball model than for us to come up with a new law. I wonder would we satisfy the concerns that you have if we indicated that we will increase the ability to compensate all the members of the team, not just the 2 that go onto the pros, and that the very high earner, the potential 2 , they might be able to get image and likeness but limited to 50,000 year. Would that work . Let me ask dr. Blank, with the process of that nature work and do you see the same concerns i am describing . Dr. Blank i would oppose that type of thing. The pay for play system. I have 850 student athletes. I run those programs because i want those students to develop a set of skills they may not develop in other classrooms. I want them to learn selfdiscipline, selfconfidence. The thing i hope they are learning and other students are learning. N educational a process. It is not about coming here to earn money and to be an employee. No, i wouldnt agree with you, but i think that is a good idea. Sen. Romney ok. Ms. Dennis . Romney,is senator thank you. Intball players can go pro college. They cant go pro, like mr. Huma said, from high school. We are not interested really in nonrevenue sports, as well as for all of our student athletes, we are not interested in being professionals at a university. Were interested in being forent athletes who aim education from experience. If we start making all of our student athletes, have them go pro, our olympic teams will be decimated. I dont know if we have gone about the system that College Athlete<\/a>s serve for our olympic teams. In 2016, the road to rio ran right through the University System<\/a>. There were 80 of our student athletes comprise our olympic team. Of that, there were 550 members of them wereand 436 either incoming student athletes, current student athletes, or former student athletes. Im not interested in that. Sen. Romney i would ask the other panel but i cannot due to the time. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Chair alexander thank you. Senator murray. Sen. Murray thank you. Mr. Huma, you are a College Football<\/a> player at ucla, a Large Division<\/a> i program that brings in millions of dollars in revenue. But in your role as executive director of the National College<\/a> players association, you work with College Athlete<\/a>s participating in a very wide range of sports, those we see playing on tv and names recognized in the vast majority who play sports that are never aired on tv and whose names we may never know. I want to rescue, the near work with ask you, in your work with College Athlete<\/a>s, what are the Biggest Health<\/a> and safety concerns for these players . Are these issues different across sports or divisions . Mr. Huma thank you for that question. There are issues very common across all divisions. There are no health and Safety Standards<\/a> enforced by the ncaa. They continue to game coming up. Some of the members may remember the death of jordan mcnair at maryland a couple of years ago that was completely preventable. It will happen. You set your clock to it. We dont know when, but it will happen until the enforcement of those kinds of rules. Sicklecell related deaths, andners and Strength Conditioning<\/a> coaches are not regulated to make sure the workouts are safe. There are problems with the big ten. They have the worst sexual scandals in the history of College Sports<\/a>. Those issues really go unaddressed because theres nowhere for these players to go. Traumatic brain injury, cte. It is not just football. Actually, womens sports have higher rates of concussions in comparable sports. Women soccer players have higher compression rates than men. There are some things comment in Contact Sports<\/a> but it is really throughout the divisions. Sen. Murray very concerning. Reopeningask you the of schools across the country is a challenge for students, parents and staff. For many College Athlete<\/a>s who were the first students to return to campus in order to participate in summer workouts and practices. Enforceablendatory, protocols established by the ncaa for schools to follow . Mr. Huma when players start arriving on campus, there is absolutely nothing. Players began getting sick pretty much immediately. The workouts across the nation saidey claimed to have some things were mandatory. If there were problems, players could call a hotline. If you go to the webpage, they say if there are problems, call us. We will ask your college and conference to quiet the situation, not real enforcement. When they want to enforce rules, like on compensation, they are there hammering schools and players. When it comes down to safety, they pretend like things are mandatory, when in actuality, there are no punishments. There is no indication right now if theres anything that is enforceable when it comes to covid in ncaa sports. Sen. Murray dr. Blank, coach d ennis, i want to follow up with both of you. The big ten made the decision to postpone fall sports until 2021. A month later, it is now reversing that decision. Like the College Athlete<\/a>s in my home state, i know some of your athletes want to compete, but we agree the health and safety of these people are top priority. Can the ends oncaa or your schol provide guidelines in light of the coronavirus . The most important policy that the ncaa established and every school is following is that anyone who feels unsafe playing in the age of covid can sit out this year but will maintain their scholarship. They can return next year with no loss of eligibility and money. We want anyone who does not feel comfortable to play to not play. I was asking more specifically, are there any protocols that have been provided in terms of safety and health . My understanding is the conferences are setting their individual protocols. That is why there are different choices in some of the other conferences. Ms. Dennis thank you. There are some very strict protocols in place at the ohio uni State University<\/a> to return to play. Every student athlete is being covid tested. If they are found positive, then they are put into quarantine. Theres Contact Tracing<\/a> around them. Complete cardiology workup, including a cardiology mri. If they are tested positive, they cannot return to play until theres approval from the cardiologist after all the workups and the mri that they are safe to come back to practice. Sen. Murray are there rules . Ms. Dennis that is at the Ohio State University<\/a>. The student athletes there, they have 24 7 concierge medical attention. Our trainers are about 3 00 in the morning if necessary. Call,ey get a phone they are being taken care of. Im sure there are abuses around the country, but in the big ten and ohio state, those abuses do not exist. There humas credit, yes, has been some unfortunate bnourrences with tehe rap situation at iowa. After those kinds of things andpen, i just dont believe they are not taken lightly. Additional protocols have been put in place. Sen. Murray has the ncaa dennis by ohio state as well as the big ten. Sen. Murray thank you. Chair alexander thank you. Senator kaine. Sen. Kaine thank you, mr. Chair and the Ranking Member<\/a> for holding this hearing. One of the things i love about this committee and is some of the elements of our work are issues i have cared about and thought about a lot over the course of my life and career. Some are issues even they are important to me as a citizen, i have not thought that much about the publicpolicy side of it. Todays hearing would be in example of that. I have not thought that much about the publicpolicy side of collegiate sports. A couple of thoughts or questions, because i want to be educated by the witnesses. In virginia, the two largest schools, university of virginia and Virginia Tech<\/a> not the largest, but two of our prominent institutions are both part of the Atlantic Coast<\/a> conference. The Atlantic Coast<\/a> conference hoas decided to play football. Virginia techs first game was scheduled last weekend on september 12 against North Carolina<\/a> state. That game had to be postponed because of an outbreak of coronavirus among North Carolina<\/a> state players. Virginia techs second game was to be this weekend against the university of virginia. That game has been postponed because of an outbreak of covid among Virginia Tech<\/a> players. But, the acc is still playing football. Why, if we have had to scrap the first two games, the Virginia Tech<\/a> games and obviously that other teams that were involved, i just would like to ask each of the witnesses why are we working so hard to continue fall football if the result of the acc are such grave questions about the ability to do it safely are so obvious . So, the big ten did postpone the fall season and there were many main reasons for that. It was because we were certain to do the level of testing and Contact Tracing<\/a>. That it wasidence uncertain of what it meant. There were more minor reasons. Until we have answers to that, we will keep once we have answers to that and to some of those issues and things we can do effectively, we will try to plan a delayed season. That is one of the reasons we delayed our season. Sen. Kaine some public reporting suggests that the big ten may vote this week to restore fall football. Are those reports accurate . Dr. Blank i will not speak to that. You will have to let the big ten make that announcement if such a decision is made. Your first question should be what changed . Hopefully, we will have answers to exactly the issues i raised. Sen. Kaine do you know whether a decision of that kind is going to be a unanimous be in animus, would require a unanimous vote by house or some lesser vote . I cant say what the vote is going to look like. We almost always go by consensus, we very rarely take votes. Or. Kaine epidemiologists how about others who want to answer that question . Hard, justworking so using the acc is an example, why are we working so hard to retain tech forll season if example has had to postpone its first few games because of covid . Its big money, and its hard to pass up. Athletic directors and coaches have been pretty frank about that. As much as people like to think that maybe somehow things are going to be ok, there was a survey put out yesterday finding that less than half of the coaches and athletic staff are compliant with their own covid guidelines. Less than half. And you see outbreaks all over the nation. You see postponements, and no ones talking about coming in a changing that without some real enforcement that uniform nationally. Were not seeing anything close to that. When celeste some use allconference enforce anything when was the last time you saw a conference enforce anything . Thats basically how conferences have imposed health and safety. Much unwilling to do what is right when it comes to enforcement in terms of code enforcement. Sen. Kaine my time is up, i appreciate the witnesses. This has been very enlightening, thank you. Senator scott. Sen. Scott thank you, mr. Chairman, can you hear me ok . Chancellor, my question is a simple question, how do you preserve the amateur nature of College Athletic<\/a>s while at the same time student athletes can benefit monetarily from the use of their name, image, and likeness . Thats exactly why we are concerned with the need for some federal legislation involvement in this. There are several things i think we need to have in place in order to preserve allegiant , we cannot let hot podge hodgepodge state laws be in place. Need atpreemption we narrow trust exception, if they limit people from doing name, image and likeness, but we can orce those, and we need indicates the importance of involvement, but they are not employees. Things willof indeed preserve the College Athletic<\/a> model. Just a followup to that, do you believe it would be necessary in that federal apparatus to have Certain Industries<\/a> and or areas of interest excluded from the list of places where a student athlete could use their name, image, or likeness . There have to be guardrails around the ways there has to be transparency, they have to be able to show some regulatory process that indeed there receiving reasonable payments , theeneral Services Legislation<\/a> is not clear to me. Anybody that would be charged with regulating would have to establish some guardrails. So you would suggest that federal legislation and our vehicle would create a broad outline and that having a governing authority may be empowered by that legislation to create a uniform standard would be consistent with the philosophy that you are echoing . Yes, absolutely. Sen. Scott thank you very much. Senator rosen, we will go to you. Sen. Rosen can you hear me ok . Thank you. Weve been having problems with our computer lately, so thank you very much. Thank you, mr. Chairman, for holding the hearing. Im going to touch a little bit its an important issue that is central to our discussion today. Due to the covid19 pandemic [indiscernible] , there were times 36,000 new cases of covid19 bringing a total number of cases near 90,000, which is pretty high, if you ask me. [indiscernible] nearly half the conference schools declining to provide on covid19 test for tolege athletes chose not disclose information. I find this lack of transparency particularly alarming. Fda to issuehe nationwide guidance on covid. Esting let me ask the witness here covid19 you make information publicly available [indiscernible] we have a dashboard that we update every that provides information on our covid19 cases on campus with positivity rates, and how many tests we run. Campus information on and theyre usually comments added to that to help people understand more about what we are seeing. Rosen and his everyone else on the panel publicly available . And id also like to your comments on what more can be done to make sure every college is transparent about their covid19 trusting in testing and tracing protocols. Are also areate we in receipt of covid19 information on a daily basis. The information comes from our medical community, through the information, through the cdc, and student coaches are privy to that information every day. Sen. Rosen what about . The parents and students . Are they privy to that information so they know it is a safe environment for them to be participating in . Website, sohe anything thats on the website, to me, has the ability to be transparent, and as far as i with we are transparent our student athletes and our Parent Community<\/a> because they are also very important members of our buckeye community. Sen. Rosen i appreciate that. I guess to all our panelist, i think about urines your entire Student Community<\/a> and parents should be part of this conversation going forward. Important that everyone, the professors, and all the people who work at the based on the information that they find. Some wonder what you have to say about that. Nothere are those who have idea what the infection rate is, theyre keeping it quiet, and also, sometimes theyre not getting the test before going back into workouts. Are still in , even if there arent actual competitions going on at some of these conferences, players are still working out and they have a lack of information about, even what the schools have been promising to see violations, who are there going to call . There is no real enforcement. Sen. Rosen so what should vertices do to make this more uniform for our students and beff and everyone who might talking to her College Campuses<\/a> . When it comes to athletics, there needs to be National Uniform<\/a> standards that the schools and ncaa would enforce for College Athlete<\/a>s. Sen. Rosen my time is up. Senator jones. Jones thank you for all of our witnesses. It really gets into a lot of different areas. Me, ive always believed that where we are headed, for some type of conversation is a Natural Evolution<\/a> of what has now become a huge, billions of dollars business in america, in the economy. I also think we are leaving out some things, such as the ability to transfer back and forth a these bit easier that athletes enjoy right now. I would like to ask, i want to go in a little different direction on costs. Hear a lot, and i think its appropriate to talk about the value that these athletes get from the universities. With their tuition, with a room and board, all of the things, that has a value. Ive seen some criticisms about this transfer pricing model. I will admit that im not an accountant, but theres been some criticism about some of these models are not really giving a full, accurate picture of the actual cost to universities for these athletes. We hear a lot of big numbers, and id like you to address the need for transparency in assessing this, because i think what were giving these athletes has to be weighed with what we ultimately do, but it needs to be transparent. Id like you to talk about the value and how you calculate that value and your institutions and where to be where we need to be looking going forward. We say that heres all the make it get as well as available to anyone else. Scholarship is actually lower when you add in all of the coaching, the mental coverage,e Insurance Plus<\/a> the value of an education. Its hard to cost some of those things out in a very clear way, so we to not to have the full cost all in, sadly. Hours is similar in that there is a clear dollar value given each year to the scholarship agreement that is signed annually by our student athletes, which at utah state is about a 36,000, that includes allion, room, books, fees, of those things. But in addition, there is so much more that is provided. The individual strength and condition coaching, the academic tutors and help with registering, all of those things , Mental Health<\/a> counselors, nutritionist, all of those things that there is a value to, although we dont drill down individually and say, each student athlete gets two hours of strength and conditioning, individual training per week, or medical care thats provided by our Team Physicians<\/a> and Sports Medicine<\/a> specialists. Significantly more than that 37 thousand dollars. I think another really key factor here, and i will speak from personal experience, is that i can remember in my mid30s, which was quite a few years ago, talking to peers and colleagues, and they still had Student Loans<\/a> that they were paying off. Being the great assets of a collegiate athlete, not only do you get to play sports, but you get to do it debtfree free in a lot of cases for those on full scholarship, and again, the financial challenges that come up, 8, 10, 12 years down the road for those still paying Student Loans<\/a> off, a lot of collegiate student athletes dont have that debt today. Question,ou, the next southeastr from the , i asence commissioner unanimous consent that we make this part of the record for the hearing today, if thats ok. So ordered. Let me ask you one quick question in the limited time we have. One issue for a lot of these conferences is liability. Liability for athletes that have gone before them that have not been able to benefit from this. Theres been different proposals there, and id like to get your thoughts on whether there are safe harbor provisions she would support from a players association, safe harbor provisions that would allow this to be implemented without subjecting the schools to athletes, orm past any kind of alternative. When time is up, so just very quickly, please, sir. I think when we get into basic we talk about protections and legal rights, i dont think thats an. Ppropriate measure there needs to be some kind of restitution [indiscernible] that aroundmay send all the thanks to witnesses, i appreciate it. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Hassan thank you mr. Chair and thank you for the witnesses for being here to testify today. Im going to know before i get to my questions, im concerned that your there continues to be an inconsistent approach across colleges, universities and conferences to holding sports during the covid19 pandemic. Some sports and conferences are not playing, while others are moving forward, even on campuses with some of the highest infections, and there are very double Safety Measures<\/a> in place. The health and safety of College Athlete<\/a>s and their communities must determine when and how College Sports<\/a> continues during this pandemic. Is for ms. Estion blank. As you know, decisions about how College Sports<\/a> will proceed are being made and Infectious Disease<\/a> experts continue to identify the longterm Health Impacts<\/a> of covid19, even on young, healthy adults. Study found there are potential longterm risk to heart health, even for those who recover from covid19. Cancer blank, i will ask you first, can you explain for school has continued considered the potential longterm Health Effects<\/a> of covid19 on your athletes, and if so, how are you preparing to address these longterm effects for College Athlete<\/a>s who may become infected with the virus . Thank you for the question. We have definitely considered that. We have a group of medical experts who work closely with our College Athlete<\/a>s departments. The big ten has decided at this point to postpone the season. Part of its concern was exactly thatf the unsettled were getting on myocarditis and a panellated issues and of experts from across our schools for all the medical schools that are consulting with the big ten on the decisions they are making. So our concern is that we do this according to the best science and best medical advice possible. Hassan [indiscernible] plans to take care of Health Effects<\/a> that could last for the rest of an athletes life if they play . Will the University System<\/a> for instance be covering those costs thatomehow acknowledging the athletes take on the risk of playing during covid, have at least some responsibility for the longterm impact of the Health Effects<\/a> . Yes, provide insurance to all her athletes, at a minimum we cover them for anything that happens to them in a number were talking about more [indiscernible] in a number of cases we have covered athletes much longer who have had injuries that they need help far beyond two years. Our expectation is we have someone with the serious if they contracted while they were playing, we would cover them. Hassan will asked to respond in writing at a later time. I want to talk a little bit about concussions. Im introducing a bipartisan recognizing friday, september 18 as concussion awareness day to raise awareness of the impact of concussions and traumatic brain injuries. According to the cdc, there are three. 8 million sports related concussions each year, and her current data may only account for a small percentage of the total instances of concussions. Concussions and traumatic brain injuries are concern for children, teens, and adults, including many College Athlete<\/a>s. We need to improve our overall understanding of concussions. What is your organization doing to raise awareness of the longterm effects of concussions and how should we consider these longterm health risks specific to College Athlete<\/a>s when we talk about compensation, including benefits Like Health Care<\/a> and disability . First i would like to thank you for the work youre doing. Injury brain raising awareness and how it can encephalopathy, they have committed suicide, and , asially part of what we do much as possible, they have to be their own advocates. Leaned on and pressure trainers to return players with concussions to the same game sometimes. Those are very important issues. Im running out of time, so i will followup in deference to the chair about what kind of longterm disability plans or planning should colleges and andege athletes engage in financial obligations. So i will follow up on that. Witnessesto thank the for a very illuminating hearing today, and the senators for their broad participation and good questions. Forward wrap up, senator murray, do you have additional comments or questions . Ask murray i did want to a number of supplemental documents [indiscernible] that, and thank you, mr. Chairman for the discussion today. As i said in my opening statement, weve had a long history of on this committee of conversations on important issues. College athletes are being exploited and coaches make millions they dont. [indiscernible] ensure that College Athlete<\/a>s get at a minimum of fair share of and alsoue generated protected by health and Safety Standards<\/a> and have as sex to help access to health care and quality education. [indiscernible] thank you, senator murray, and i want to thank you and your staff are working with us to create this opportunity today. We are coordinating with the Commerce Committee<\/a>, which has principal jurisdiction over this issue and the comments in testimony today will be helpful to the Commerce Committee<\/a> as it considers what Action Congress<\/a> should take. Id like to ask one last question before we wrap up. Assuming that congress were to provide, create an entity who has a job of writing rules for compensation for name, image, and likeness, who should that entity be . Chancellor blank . Talk aboutilling to a variety of options here. I think we need to create a regulatory body [indiscernible] be thet choice would ncaa, they have the most expertise. That wouldagencies be contracted to some the people on this committee, that would be fine, too. Alexander, im not sure which Governmental Agency<\/a> this would fall under. What i am sure of is that as a coach, ive got enough challenges, and i dont want to navigate my way through a battery of those different laws because everything i do is challenging enough without having to try to figure out which perspective this law is going to affect our recruiting efforts, as well as coaches recruiting efforts. So i would just hope that the committee will consider something that is more uniform, something that is or standard and central set of rules that can guide coaches through the tot phase of this movement hopefully create some manner of compensation for our student athletes. Hartwell, what entity should write the rules . I believe it should be congress and federal legislation that writes the rules, working in close conjunction with the ncaa, because the worst thing that can happen from collegiate athletics and for Prospective Student<\/a> athletes is to have 50 different iterations at the various state levels of rules and regulations regarding in il. I think a consistent National Package<\/a> in conjunction with the ncaa would be optimal. At entity should write rules, if there are rules to be written . [indiscernible] entity if there was an at the core of the problem, the conflict of interest that , its run primarily by Athletic Director<\/a>s in terms of direction and there needs to be mutual neutral thirdparty. Players need to be primarily in and around another big reason why we are here if we have that opportunity. Sen. Alexander thanks to all four of you, i know youre busy and have responsibilities and youve given us a big chunk of time. My own view, which i stated in my opening statement, is that itgress should act, and that should authorize an entity to be safe from litigation to write the rules about name, image, and likeness. Our recommendation would be that entity should be the ncaa. The alternatives are much worse am i mean the alternatives are to create a new entity, and ive had some experience of watching new commissions created by the federal government. It takes a long time to do that, for one. Second, an entity like the federal trade commission have no expertise in Higher Education<\/a> student athletes, and no responsibility early for Higher Education<\/a>. I think the worst thing would be for the congress itself to write the rules. I mean, if anybody has watched 15 or 20 senators try to agree on a press release, imagine what 535 members of congress would be like trying to write detailed rules in area of what congress should do what congress should do in my opinion is authorize an entity to write the rules, and congress should do what congress does best, which is aggressive oversight, to put the spot on what is happening in and change whatever needs to be changed. My the ncaa is not supposed to be run by Athletic Director<\/a>s. It is supposed to be run by chancellors of institutions. If not, it should be reformed. While the ncaa is not perfect and it is controversial, any entity who writes rules for Intercollegiate Athletics<\/a> is going to be controversial. My own view, as expressed earlier on this, is that while there are a number of things i would like to see the ncaa do, such as take increased Television Revenues<\/a> and make sure they go for the benefit of , rather thantes higher salaries for coaches and administrative tasks. I dont really want to see individual athletes have an opportunity to profit while they are student athletes from their name, image, and likeness. They may want to be rewarded for their name, image, or likeness, but in my view, those dollars should be distributed for the benefit of all the student athletes at that institution. And if an individual athlete prefers to keep the money that he or she might turn from a name, earn from a name, image, or likeness, then that person should go professional. I think that is much better than jeopardizing the entire tradition of student athletes. I like the direction in which Major League Baseball<\/a> and the ncaa have taken baseball players. I mean, programs like vanderbilt and virginia and others as well are really of minorleague quality. The vanderbilt Baseball Team<\/a> is at least triplea most of the time, and some of its players could have gone directly from high school into professional leagues. They chose not to. They chose to take the undergraduate experience, a the educationee, from coaches, who are among the best teachers in the country, and the other support, and stay for at least three years and then go on to have highly successful professional careers. That direction, those sorts of choices seem to me to be right. It does not restrict any High School Student<\/a>s ability to be a professional. They can do that if they wish. If they want to be a student athlete for say three years in the case of baseball, then they must play by the rules of student athletes, and by that tradition, which is well ingrained and in which billions of americans have benefited from millions of americans have benefited from. Hearing will the hearing record will remain open for 10 days. Members may submit Additional Information<\/a> for the record in that time, if they like. On committee will meet again thursday, september 17 at 10 00 a. M. For a hearing on Higher Education<\/a>. Has all of the witnesses know well, federal aid Application Form<\/a> is filled out every year by 20 million families for six years. Senator murray and i and our committee and various members have been working to reduce the number of questions, decrease the flexibility so we can increase the number of students who take advantage of federal aid for Higher Education<\/a>. Weve taken some important steps towards that. This hearing is about finishing that job. Thank you for being here today. The committee will stand adjourned. [gavel smashes] cspans washington journal. Every day, we take your calls live on the air on the news of the day and we will discuss policy issues that impact you. Coming up this morning, California Democratic<\/a> congressman Jared Huffman<\/a> joins us to talks about wildfires. And Climate Change<\/a> card florida and Climate Change<\/a>. Congressmanrida Francis Rooney<\/a> talks about the Peace Agreement<\/a> between israel, the united arab emirates, and bahrain. Watch washington journal and join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, texts, and tweets. Coming up live on the cspan networks wednesday, the u. S. House returns for general speeches at 9 00 a. M. And at 10 00 a. M. For legislative business with work on bills related to childcare, federal education grants and election technology. On cspan2, the Senate Returns<\/a> at 10 00 a. M. To debate the nomination of Todd Wallace Robinson<\/a> of california to be United States<\/a> stricter judge for the Southern District<\/a> of california district judge for the Southern District<\/a> of cap 20. A Senate Appropriations<\/a> subcommittee looks at how the department of health and Human Services<\/a> continues its response to covid19. Witnesses include cdc director dr. Robert redfield and admiral brett giroir, hhs assistant secretary for health. Energy p. M. , a Senate Subcommittee<\/a> examines several Land Management<\/a> bills that include firefighting and forest management. The statue of Young Eisenhower<\/a> as a teenage boy sitting on a stone block, looking in the direction of his greatest accomplishments, president of the United States<\/a> and Supreme Commander<\/a> of the allied expeditionary forces. Thursday at 7 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan2, watch live coverage of the dedication ceremony for the new dwight d. Eisenhower memorial in washington, d. C. , just off the National Mall<\/a> at the base of capitol hill. Speakers include the memorial designer, former secretary of state condoleezza rice, Commission Chair<\/a> senator pat roberts, and president eisenhowers grandchildren. The dedication of the new dwight d. Eisenhower memorial at 7 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan two, online at cspan. Org, or listen live on the cspan radio app. President trump hosted the Foreign Ministers<\/a> from the the united arab emirates, and bahrain, along with Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> at the white house. Meant to normalize relations between israel and the two countries. 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