WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is taking another pass at reforming college sports, introducing a new bill this week to cap eligibility and transfers for student-athletes.
The former Auburn football coach, who was a head coach at four major universities, wants to restrict student-athletes to one transfer without a penalty. Any additional transfers would result in athletes sitting out a year under his proposed Student-Athlete Act.
“The unregulated transfer portal is the worst thing that has happened in the history of college sports,” Tuberville told reporters on a call.
Currently, collegiate athletes are allowed to transfer an unlimited number of times after the NCAA settled with the Department of Justice, allowing the practice. Tuberville contends that unlimited transfers harm students’ ability to get a well-rounded education.
“The transfer portal has ruined the incentive to earn or get a college degree,” Tuberville said. “(It) has completely wiped out the student part of student athletics, and it’s a disservice to our players, because the percentage of college athletes that go on to play at the professional level is very, very small.”
After the 2021 Supreme Court ruling allowing student-athletes to make money through their name, image and likeness, Congress has made multiple attempts to reform college athletics. Tuberville’s new legislation focuses on two issues, which he deems the most important to address in the conversation.
His bill would also allow student-athletes to have five consecutive years of eligibility regardless of injury. Under current NCAA rules, athletes have five consecutive years to compete for four seasons.
“We can’t be having 25-year-old ‘students’ who graduated three years ago still competing in the NCAA,” Tuberville said in a statement. “With my bill, a student-athlete gets five years to get their education, compete, and then move on.”
The Student-Athlete Act also includes an antitrust exemption for the NCAA, allowing the organization to set rules around NIL. Another bill aimed at college sports, the SCORE Act, would also create an antitrust exemption for the NCAA. Sponsors on the bipartisan legislation include Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile. It has yet to get a vote in the House.
In 2023, Tuberville and former Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., introduced legislation to establish national rules for NIL. It would also have required student-athletes to complete three years of eligibility before transferring schools. The bill, dubbed the PASS Act, never advanced out of committee.
The Student Athlete Act has been referred to the Senate Commerce Committee.
