U.S. Election results are coming to a close this week as it’s now clear that the Republican party will hold their control of the House of Representatives. This, combined with the re-election of Donald Trump as president and the flip of the Senate means that Republicans will control the White House and both chambers of Congress for the first time since 2018. Since then, the NCAA has changed drastically thanks to a number of antitrust lawsuits in favor of athletes profiting from their name, image, and likeness (NIL).
How will a Republican-controlled government affect the NCAA and its athletes in light of these changes?
There are several possibilities, but perhaps the most concrete and likely change has to do with the codification of House v. NCAA.
The NCAA, who stands to lose money if they have to pay their athletes, previously wanted a codified antitrust exemption from congress when it comes to college athletes.
As cases such as House v. NCAA have gotten further in their settlement processes, the NCAA’s desire has shifted. Now, the primary ask is for the settlement of House to be codified in law. This would help prevent the NCAA and its schools from having to pay more further down the line. Some athletes are already saying that the anticipated $2.8 billion back payment settlement doesn’t go far enough.
Politicians disagree down the partisan line of whether to codify or not. Generally speaking, conservative politicians support keeping student-athletes’ amateur status, while the liberal politicians support student-athletes getting employee status. Extra Points writer Matt Brown said that athletic directors told him that a Republican-controlled government would be better for business in the short term.
One of the most vocal politicians about the matter has been conservative Texas senator Ted Cruz. Well before the elections, Cruz has been outspoken in favor of an antitrust exemption, as he believes this will protect the value and business model of college sports. He also said we will make college sports “a very, very high priority” as a ranked member of the senate’s commerce committee, the committee where an exemption such as this one would originate.
Because Republicans now control the senate with South Dakota senator John Thune as majority leader, Cruz is poised to step into the head leadership position of the committee in January. With a vocal opponent of student-athlete employment status leading the committee and a conservative majority in all three branches of federal government, a House codification looks more likely than ever.
Apart from the codification, there has been talk about Title IX. President elect Donald Trump has expressed interest in shutting down the Department of Education. This department oversees Title IX compliance, both generally and in the enforcement of the antitrust lawsuit results. Trump would need congressional approval to shut down a federal agency. A proposal by his administration during his first presidency to merge the Department of Education with the Department of Labor did not go anywhere.
If America wants to maintain any level of prominence in Olympic Sports, it is going to need to fund college programs like swimming that have traditionally been the incubators for the Olympic teams but that are going to see funding hurt by all of the money staying in football and basketball.
I am not a fan of the incoming administration whatsoever
They will do a worse job of running the USA than Coach Peter Andrew did coaching his son last year
What a joke!
I know it’s got to be painful. You can release your frustrations over at bsky.social.
Remember, “Democracy Was On the Ballot (TM).”
Yeah, waiting until the very last minute to go for the big F word accusation while they themselves skipped having a primary was not a very good look for the self appointed ‘saviors’…
I recommend “Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism” by Sheldon Wolin
Did Will Bailey voted Democrat or Republican?
Usually Swimswam doesn’t report politics, however this article is an exception.
The comments are about to be interesting.
Probably not much, they’re more concerned with making sure professors aren’t allowed to teach history like railroad and coal companies purposefully fanning the flames of racial tensions to divide labor organization.
Remember the whiterose
They’ve got bigger problems. Wars and deficits need the most attention
Here’s one of the sweetest ironies of Trump’s re-election earlier in the month.
Remember back to 2017 when LA and Paris were competing for the 2024 Olympic Games? The IOC decided to give it to both cities, Paris in ‘24 and LA in ‘28. There were several reasons for which city got which date, but among them was IOC’s thinking that if Trump were re-elected in 2020 then giving it to LA in ‘28 would prevent him from presiding over the opening ceremony of the ‘24 games in the US.
I highly doubt this, monkey likes the number 100 I don’t think its that deep.
Regardless of anyone’s personal feelings about Trump, that man will be 82 by the LA Games, and he has done some hard living in his lifetime.
I’m not saying he’s definitely not going to make it, but I think the odds of him still being president by the opening ceremony are 50/50 at best, right? Seems much more likely to me that JD Vance opens the Games.
Bad weeds grow tall
🎵Only the good die young🎶 🎺🎷🎺
i hope the discussions in these comments are civil and actually constructive with some forward thinking LOL