NCAA President Urges Congress To Vote In Favor of SCORE Act As Bill Heads To House Vote

The NCAA-backed SCORE Act will finally be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives later this week after passing a procedural hurdle on Monday.

The legislation, which is mainly backed by House Republicans, is expected to be voted on by the House on Wednesday, marking the first major sports bill to be brought to the floor since the Supreme Court cleared the path for student-athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness in 2021.

On Monday, the House Rules Committee advanced a procedural measure that moves the bill towards a full House vote. The committee voted 7-4 along partisan lines.

In September, a House vote was delayed due to a lack of support.

The SCORE Act (Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements) is designed to protect the name, image, and likeness rights of student athletes to promote fair compensation. If passed, it would officially classify student-athletes as amateurs, not employees, and it would also give the NCAA and its schools antitrust protection, making it more difficult for them to be sued.

On Monday, Front Office Sports obtained a letter sent by NCAA President Charlie Baker to members of Congress urging them to vote yes on the bill.

In the letter, Baker outlined “five core reasons” why the NCAA is calling on Congress to vote in favor of the bill:

1. Establishes Federal Safeguards: The SCORE Act enshrines essential health and safety protections, academic support, scholarship guarantees, and the core right to enter into NIL agreements into federal law, creating stability for all student-athletes.
2. Protects Student-Athletes’ NIL Rights: It ensures transparency and fair dealing in the NIL marketplace by guaranteeing a student-athlete’s right to representation, protections from bad actors, and transparent written contracts.
3. Codifies Financial Participation: It legally reinforces the terms of the House settlement, ensuring student-athletes can participate in the financial value their programs create. At the same time, it provides the flexibility necessary for smaller colleges and universities to operate their athletic departments sustainably.
4. Ensures Uniformity and Fair Play: The Act creates a much-needed level playing field, empowering the NCAA to consistently enforce common-sense eligibility rules, including ensuring student-athletes are meeting academic requirements and placing limits on competition years and past professional experience.
5. Preserves Olympic and Non-Revenue Sports: By protecting the non-employment status of student-athletes and requiring schools to maintain a minimum of 16 varsity sports, the SCORE Act safeguards opportunities in Olympic, women’s, HBCU, and Division II/III programs.

“Together with the NCAA’s internal reforms, this legislation will provide student-athletes with unprecedented financial opportunities, more robust legal protections, and a stronger support system, while safeguarding fair competition across the country. We urge you to help ensure a future for college sports that is both fair and sustainable for all by voting yes for the SCORE Act,” Baker said.

NCAA president Charlie Baker has sent members of Congress a letter urging them to vote YES on the SCORE Act, which he says will come to a vote this week, per copy obtained by @FOS.

(Expecting the vote to be called for Wednesday, but could change.) pic.twitter.com/uzfnSrHHQ6

— Amanda Christovich (@achristovichh) December 1, 2025

Texas Tech Board of Regents Chair Cody Campbell was supportive of the bill on Monday, tweeting:

“My goals and the goals of Saving College Sports have remained very consistent: Pass legislation that will save ALL Sports! Women’s Sports, Olympic Sports, and sports at smaller and lower profile schools. Our objectives exactly mirror the objectives of [President Trump’s] Executive Order, issued this summer. While the SCORE Act comes up far short on these objectives, we support its passage in the House this week, and expect a robust debate and significant modification or replacement of the bill in the Senate.”

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell has been one of the most outspoken people objecting to the bill, claiming it gives too much protection to the NCAA and its Power Conferences at the expense of student-athletes.

“This is a David and Goliath fight,” Cantwell said on Monday. “And the power 2 conferences are trying to rewrite the rules for the rest of colleges and universities that dictate playoff berths, control TV revenue and hold back athlete opportunities.

“Athletes and smaller schools should stop the new SCORE Act because the only ones scoring are private equity, a few big schools within the SEC and Big 10, and a few coaches with ridiculous payouts for nonperformance.”

In response, an alternate proposal, the College Athletics Reform Act (CARA), has been introduced by U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, which “establishes a federal NIL policy, creates a bi-partisan commission for governance recs & amends [the] Sports Broadcasting Act.”

Attorney Mit Winter says CARA would kill the College Sports Commission and the House settlement.

This bill would kill the CSC & the House settlement.

It prohibits the NCAA/CSC from restricting athletes from receiving NIL $ and from taking adverse action against athletes b/c of receipt of NIL $.

It also prevents athletes from being required to disclose NIL deals. https://t.co/XbG8TyVDS7 pic.twitter.com/X3cZnlr8tk

— Mit Winter (@WinterSportsLaw) December 1, 2025

As for the SCORE Act, it will need a simple majority, 218 votes out of 435 members (if all vote) in the House. If passed, it would then head to the United States Senate.