As a potential NIL-related bill begins moving towards Capitol Hill, a committee of student-athletes expressed their desire to remain as such.
It is an interesting development that could affect the recruiting landscape, transfer portal and the new-found economic freedom of college athletes.
The NCAA Division II National Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) published a letter to six senators and six members of Congress expressing a desire “maintain student-athlete status as its own classification rather than reclassifying us as employees and to continue to monitor the ways in which the current experiences of student-athletes can be improved.”
“We encourage Congress to regard this statement as a representation of the voice of thousands of student-athletes. This is our voice, and we want to ensure that we are heard at all levels where decisions about college athletics are being made,” SAAC Chair Emma Kramer writes.
What this could mean for HBCUs at the Division II level is that if the NIL bill that is currently in the draft stages passes through each house and makes it to President Joe Biden’s desk, students with NIL deals would not be considered employees and would still be subject to the same rules and student body code of conduct as their fellow classmates.
The bill, currently in draft mode, is expected to address potential retaliation from schools towards athletes with NIL deals who may transfer out, a potential governing body to keep track of NIL deals and booster-related agreements and protecting the NCAA from lawsuits and having to allow student-athletes with NIL deals to be eligible for employee status.
As HBCUs continue to be a hot topic of conversation from a branding perspective, it will be interesting to see how this letter from the Division II level, as well as the potential NIL bill, impact the way their athletic programs and athletes navigate the changing landscape of the business of college athletics.
