HBCU athletic commissioners are again urging Congress to move on the SCORE Act, warning that the future of HBCU sports could be shaped by whatever federal framework emerges next.
In a May 11 letter to Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke, the leaders of the CIAA, MEAC, SIAC and SWAC said they continue to believe the bill is “best suited to address our core concerns” amid what they described as a “currently unsustainable state of collegiate sports.”
HBCU commissioners plea for national reform
The SCORE (Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements) Act, according to its proponents, would protect the rights of student-athletes by creating a uniform national law, rather than more than 30 individual state NIL laws.
This bill would also codify the status of student-athletes, thus rendering them ineligible to be considered employees of their colleges and universities.
The letter reads like both a policy argument and a plea for stability.
“Without swift legislative action, potential regulatory decisions and persistent litigation will continue to threaten the very fabric of our institutions and their respective sports programs,” the letter said, underscoring how closely they view college sports reform and institutional survival.
At the center of their case is a concern that HBCU athletics cannot absorb a model built around major-revenue programs. The commissioners said the SCORE Act protects future opportunities for student-athletes by making sure they are not classified as employees of their schools, arguing that such a shift would create an “existential threat” for many HBCUs that rely on appropriated funds and donations.
Commissioners from four HBCU conferences sent a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus on Monday, urging members to support SCORE Act as it arrives next week for a potential floor vote.
Some CBC members have openly supported concepts of the bill while others are against it. pic.twitter.com/2nclWR4VNY
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 12, 2026
They also praised the bill’s limits on legal exposure.
The letter says the SCORE Act would provide “limited liability protections for associations and conferences” so they can make and enforce “reasonable uniform rules,” a phrase that captures the commissioners’ push for order over a patchwork of competing state laws.
Future of HBCU athletics on the line
That national consistency is another major theme in the letter. The commissioners said the bill would “preempt the current patchwork of state laws to create a nationwide, clear set of shared rules,” which they argue would reduce confusion for schools, athletes, and administrators operating across different legal climates.
The case is not just about compliance, though. It is also about survival, according to the commissioners, who wrote that most HBCUs “do not generate significant revenue and rely heavily on school-appropriated funds and donations.”
In their view, that financial reality makes it impossible to absorb the costs that could come with employee classification, and they warned that in some cases it “could lead to the elimination of intercollegiate athletics”.
Their message was clear: whatever shape the next era of college sports takes, HBCUs want a seat at the table and a framework they believe they can survive under.
