HR-9302-119
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Sponsored by W. Steube (R-FL)
What it does
This bill would establish federal rules governing intercollegiate athletic eligibility. It would give every college athlete 5 consecutive years of eligibility regardless of injury or other circumstances, superseding NCAA rules. It would allow one penalty-free transfer but impose a one-year competition ban for any subsequent transfer in the same academic year the athlete enters the transfer portal. It would also require colleges to honor their original scholarship commitments to athletes and preempt any conflicting state laws.
Who benefits
Current and future college athletes who would gain a guaranteed 5-year eligibility window and scholarship protection. Athletes making their first transfer, who would face no competition penalty. Athletes at smaller programs who may benefit from more stable scholarship commitments. Colleges and conferences that prefer a uniform national standard over a patchwork of state laws. The NCAA, which would receive an explicit antitrust exemption to set transfer portal rules and would retain authority over transfer windows.
Who is hurt
Athletes who transfer more than once and would face a one-year competition ban on the second and subsequent transfers. Walk-on athletes or those on partial scholarships whose situations may not fit neatly into the grant-in-aid framework. States that have enacted their own college athlete protection laws, which would be preempted. Colleges in states with stronger athlete protections, which would lose those standards. Athletes who might benefit from more flexible transfer rules under current or future NCAA policy, since this bill locks in a more restrictive framework. Competing professional or minor league sports structures that benefit from current eligibility uncertainty.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that the current NCAA transfer portal system — which has allowed unlimited penalty-free transfers — has destabilized college rosters, harmed team continuity, and disadvantaged athletes who stay loyal to their programs. They contend that a uniform federal standard eliminates the current patchwork of conflicting state laws across more than a dozen states, giving athletes, coaches, and institutions clear and consistent rules. They also argue that the 5-year eligibility guarantee provides meaningful protection for athletes who suffer injuries or other disruptions to their careers.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that restricting second and subsequent transfers reimpose penalties the NCAA itself abandoned, limiting athletes' ability to leave programs where they face coaching changes, reduced playing time, or hostile environments. They contend that the antitrust exemption granted to the NCAA removes a key legal check that courts and the Department of Justice have used to protect athletes' economic mobility, as seen in NCAA v. Alston (2021). They further argue that the federal preemption of state law strips states of the ability to provide stronger athlete protections tailored to local conditions.
Constitutional context
Congress's authority to regulate the NCAA and intercollegiate athletics rests on the Commerce Clause (Art. I, §8, cl. 3), as college sports involve substantial interstate economic activity — a connection reinforced by the aggregation principle from Wickard v. Filburn (1942). The bill's explicit antitrust exemption for the NCAA raises questions under the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the broad federal preemption of state law implicates the Tenth Amendment, though preemption of state law in areas of federal regulation is generally permissible under the Supremacy Clause.
Checks and balances
Congress gains authority to set the framework for college athletic eligibility; the NCAA retains delegated rulemaking power over transfer portal specifics, subject to the bill's limits; federal courts would serve as the check on both congressional and NCAA authority, particularly given the antitrust exemption and post-Loper Bright independent judicial review of any agency or organizational interpretations.
Historical precedent
No federal law has previously established eligibility rules for college athletics; the NCAA has historically governed these rules as a private association, though multiple states have passed their own name, image, and likeness (NIL) and transfer-related laws since 2021.