Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt pushes federal fix for college sports amid NIL chaos

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt is among lawmakers pushing federal legislation aimed at creating uniform rules for college athletics as lawsuits make it harder for the NCAA to enforce basic regulations.

The effort comes as schools say money that helps pay for non-revenue teams is getting squeezed, potentially leading to fewer roster spots, fewer scholarships and cuts to some women’s and Olympic sports.

Schmitt is sponsoring the Protect College Sports effort alongside Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell.

NCAA losing enforcement power

Saint Louis University men’s basketball has elevated Division I basketball in the region with a recent historic run, reaching March Madness and winning a first-round game last year.

As this new era of Billikens basketball takes off, the business of college sports is changing fast, and the rules aren’t keeping up.

“You’re getting treated as a professional to play. Some guys fall into that trap on the money stuff, but we have a good group here, whoever is paid what who cares, we keep the main thing the main thing. We are focused on basketball,” said Robbie Avilia, former SLU center.

Schmitt told First Alert Forward that college sports have become “rulemaking by lawsuit,” with courts, not the NCAA, deciding what rules can stand.

“The truth is, how we got here with this chaotic sort of college athletic scene was by litigation. And effectively now the NCAA or any other governing body doesn’t have the ability to make any rules that can be enforced or stick,” Schmitt said.

He said courts have stripped the NCAA of real enforcement power, and Schmitt argues only Congress can reset the rules nationwide.

“If we don’t do something, you’re just going to have women’s sports eliminated, you’ll have Olympic sports eliminated, because they just don’t generate revenue,” Schmitt said.

Proposal includes antitrust protections

The proposal includes a narrow antitrust safe harbor, one set of rules across the country and new guardrails on transfers and eligibility, framed as a way to protect women’s and Olympic sports.

Saint Louis University’s NIL budget isn’t public knowledge since it’s a private institution. People close to SLU’s NIL efforts say the program has become one of the more aggressive NIL players outside the power conferences, in part because SLU doesn’t have football costs.

Ross Chaifetz of the Chaifetz Ownership Group described NIL like an arms race, with boosters pouring in cash but the rules varying from state to state.

“I think when the boosters are doubling down, literally quadrupling NIL money says we are putting our money where our mouth is,” Chaifetz said.

Most athletic departments rely on football revenue to help fund everything else: women’s sports, Olympic sports and smaller men’s programs. Supporters of a federal fix say if the legal fights continue, schools will have to cut where the money isn’t.

Legal experts weigh tradeoffs

Legal experts say any antitrust safe harbor comes with tradeoffs because it could shift power from athletes to schools, depending on how it’s written.

“Congress is the only entity at the federal level that can grant the NCAA antitrust exemption, which is essentially every time the NCAA gets sued by a student athlete, it’s usually rooted in some sort of antitrust claim. And so without that exemption, the NCAA, every time they make a rule, they’re going to continue losing in court,” said Mark Milton of the Milton Law Group.

Milton said the fine print matters, especially if the government starts defining “fair market value” and “legitimate business purpose.”

“Well, who’s to say showing up to sign cards at a car dealership isn’t worth $1,000,000? The free market works, and they should be able to go out and earn whatever money somebody’s willing to pay them,” Milton said.

Along with NIL oversight, the proposals include limiting free transfers and tightening rules around coaching changes and roster stability. Supporters say it brings order. Critics say it could go too far and limit athletes’ leverage.