The Equitable Future of Intercollegiate Athletics

CompPolicyInt · The Equitable Future of Intercollegiate Athletics

By Michael D. Hausfeld, Sarah LaFreniere & Eduardo A. Carlo

For too long now, the NCAA has hidden behind its veil of “amateurism” to justify depriving college athletes of reasonable compensation for use of their name, image, and likeness (“NIL”), much needed comprehensive academic opportunities, and much more. While significant incremental improvements have been achieved through litigation, legislatures have finally realized that they have a role to play in creating an equitable system of intercollegiate athletics. Ever since California passed the Fair Pay to Play Act in 2019, there has been exponential increase in the introduction of reform bills targeting the injustices of college athlete compensation under the NCAA’s regime. In this article, the authors address a proposed formula for federal legislation aimed to achieve a more equitable system in intercollegiate athletics.