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WESTPORT, CT — June 17, 2026. Kassandra Ramsey, President of The Drake Group (TDG), a 501(c)(4) nonpartisan non-profit academic think tank working to further the education of the U.S. Congress and higher education policymakers about critical issues in intercollegiate athletics, transmitted an analysis of the Protect College Sports Act and recommendations to improve the bill in a letter sent today to Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell, Chair and Ranking Member respectively, of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation. See letter and full report here.
Ramsey applauded the leadership of the two senators and their sincere efforts to strengthen protections for college athletes and assist institutions of higher education in addressing the severe breakdown of NCAA governance. In addition, she emphasized four significant recommendations in The Drake Group report:
- Resolution of the issues of athlete compensation, employee status, and collective bargaining should not be delayed by the Commission’s 5-year clock.
- Neither the NCAA nor the Power Four should be rewarded for their failed governance. At the very least, the NCAA Board of Governors should be replaced and the Power Four’s control of Division I and its own enforcement system (a built-in conflict of interest) should be addressed.
- The provisions of the House v. NCAA settlement should not be codified into federal law. It is improper and violates the non-delegation doctrine to codify House into law while the settlement is pending appeal in the 9th Circuit. If Congress wishes to permit, mandate, or cap athlete compensation as specified in House, it should define allowable compensation for college athletes directly under its own authority rather than transfer that authority to a single non-governmental entity by directly granting it antitrust and state law protection.
- Congress should not codify the rules of the NCAA or any specific governance organization. Congress should set program standards applicable to all college athletic programs and all national collegiate athletics governance organizations, rather than putting out fires created by individual organizations.
Ramsey closed by stating, "We look forward to Congressional markup and to an end product that merits the endorsement of all stakeholders."
For further comment, contact Kassandra Ramsey at 202-350-1336. |
