NCAA Government Relations Report

[Detailed Report, July 2003]

1. The 108^th Congress.

The 108^th Congress faced a significant change in its composition and several momentous events during its first session. With a historic shift in control, the Republicans began the first session in control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. There are currently 51 Republicans, 48 Democrats and 1 Independent, who caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate. There are 229 Republicans, 205 Democrats and 1 Independent in the House of Representatives. Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) serves as the Majority Leader, while Representative Dennis Hastert (R-IL) serves as Speaker of the House.

In addition to the challenges of conducting business with a major shift in control, the 108^th Congress has endured through several major events at home and abroad. The war with Iraq, challenges in the rebuilding process in post-war Iraq and the ramifications of these events at home have all impacted the work and priorities of Congress. Additionally, the economy, high unemployment rates and a multi-state power blackout have influenced the nature of the work being conducted by Congress. During the remainder of the first session, Congress will likely focus much of its attention to appropriations, Medicare, defense authorization and energy legislation.

There are currently ten nominees for the Democratic nomination for President. Four current senators (Lieberman, Kerry, Edwards, Graham) and two current representatives (Gephardt, Kucinich) are in the field. On September 17,2003, General Wesley Clark announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination. Although the election is over a year away, the campaign season has begun even earlier this year as Democrats attempt to find the strongest challenger to President Bush for the general election in 2004.

2. State and Federal Regulation of Athlete Agents.

a. State Efforts: During the 2003 legislative sessions, the NCAA government relations staff have continued to focus much of its attention in the States, toward the passage of the Uniform Athlete Agent Act (UAAA). The UAAA helps to protect student-athletes and institutions by establishing a uniform body of agent registration information and simplifying the registration process for athlete agents. The UAAA also provides for criminal, civil and/or administrative penalties to be imposed against unscrupulous agents. The NCAA has made great strides in this area with the help of the NCAA?s partner in this effort, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). The NCAA has worked with the NCCUSL to develop a state-by-state strategy for passage of the UAAA and provided up to date information for the NCAA website on passage of the UAAA.

To date, twenty-seven jurisdictions have passed the UAAA. During 2003, the UAAA has been passed in Maryland, Texas, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Kansas, North Dakota, Montana, Kentucky, Georgia and Oklahoma. The UAAA has also passed out of both chambers in New York and has been sent to the Governor for his signature. There has also been substantial movement in several other states so far this year. The NCAA staff will continue to work to get the UAAA passed in additional states.

b. Federal Efforts: H.R. 361 The Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act (SPARTA) was passed by the House of Representatives on June 4, 2003. Sponsored by Representative Bart Gordon (D-TN), the legislation provides for civil penalties against unscrupulous agents and acts as a ?federal backstop? in those states that have not yet passed the state model law. It prohibits athlete agents from trying to lure student-athletes into signing representation contracts by making false promises or misleading statements and from providing anything of value to the athlete or anyone associated with the athlete. The bill includes a ?Sense of Congress? section that directly supports passage of the important registration requirements in the UAAA and does not preempt or conflict with the state model law.

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced a similar bill in the Senate on June 3, 2003. S. 1170 has been referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Next Steps: The NCAA staff will continue to educate and lobby state and federal legislators on the importance of passage of athlete agent legislation.

3. Internet Gambling.

Throughout 2003, the NCAA has continued to support passage of legislation that would address the increasing problem of Internet gambling on amateur sports. The Justice Department has estimated that by the end of 2003, there will be 1,800 gambling websites that generate roughly $4.2 billion.

On May 19, 2003, Representative Spencer Bachus (R-AL) introduced the Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act. The House passed the bill on June 10, 2003. The legislation (H.R. 2143) will require designated payment systems to establish policies and procedures to identify Internet gambling transactions and prevent the acceptance of credit cards or other bank instruments by the on-line gambling entity. In a strategic move to avoid the jurisdiction of the House Judiciary Committee, civil and criminal penalties were removed.

Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) introduced similar legislation, which contains the civil and criminal penalties, in the Senate on March 13, 2003. S. 627, was unanimously approved by the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on July 31, 2003. This bill has yet to receive consideration by the full Senate.

The NCAA and a large coalition that includes professional sports leagues, family values associations, law enforcement, the financial services industry and others will advocate passage of S.627 and will then push for the strongest possible bill out of the House-Senate Conference Committee to prohibit the use of certain bank instruments for unlawful gambling.

Next Steps: The NCAA staff will continue to work closely with Congressional staffs and the coalition of supporting organizations to achieve passage of legislation combating the problem of Internet gambling.

4. Controlled Substances.

Early in the 2003 legislative session, Representatives John Sweeney (R-NY) and Representative Tom Osborne (R-NE) reintroduced H.R. 207, the Anabolic Steroid Precursor Control and Health Education Act. The deceptive legal status of certain supplements often leads athletes to believe they are merely ingesting a safe dietary supplement, when in fact they are ingesting the functional equivalent of anabolic steroids. The legislation would amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to placing certain steroid precursors on the schedule of controlled substances. H.R 207 has been referred to three committees for consideration: the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Judiciary and Education and the Workforce. The bill is currently under consideration by these subcommittees.

The NCAA has joined the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) as founding members of the Coalition for Anabolic Steroid Precursor and Ephedra Regulation (CASPER). The organization is focused on supporting efforts to regulate products containing steroid precursors and products containing ephedra.

In March of 2003, Rep. Sweeney (R-NY) introduced H.R. 1075, the Ephedra Public Protection Act. The legislation would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to reclassify dietary supplements that contain any ephedrine as unsafe unless they receive pre-market approval from the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The bill is currently in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and no action has been scheduled.

On July 24, 2003, the NCAA participated in a Joint Subcommittee hearing of the House Energy and Commerce committee that focused on the use of ephedrine. Matt Mitten, Associate Dean of the Marquette University Law School and Chair of the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports represented the NCAA on the sports panel. The Committee members were complimentary of the NCAA ban of ephedrine and its current drug testing policies.

Next Steps: The NCAA staff will continue to work closely with and provide background information to Members of Congress and their staffs regarding the NCAA?s current testing programs and other information on the impact of steroid precursors and ephedra. The staff anticipates participating in a number of future events to advocate the NCAA?s position with the CASPER members.

5. Bowl Championship Series.

On September 4, 2003, NCAA President Myles Brand participated in a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on the antitrust implications of the college football Bowl Championship Series system. The hearing was called following several events in college athletics including a major conference realignment in the Atlantic Coast and Big East Conferences. NCAA President Myles Brand, Big Ten commissioner James Delany, Tulane President Scott Cowen and former NFL and BYU quarterback Steve Young served as witnesses at this informational hearing. Committee members probed into the history of the BCS, possible ways to improve the current BCS structure, the possibility of antitrust violations and the ability and willingness of all parties to alter the current structure to correct the perceived inequities. While the Committee promised to remain watchful of future developments, many Members expressed their concern with Congressional intervention. The Committee hopes that the NCAA and its member institutions will be able to work together to create the best college football postseason system for the entire intercollegiate athletic community.

Next Steps: NCAA staff will continue to act as an information resource for Members of Congress and their staffs regarding any new developments in discussions between BCS and non-BCS schools to restructure the current system.

6. Other State Issues.

California. Senator Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles) introduced the Student-Athletes? Bill of Rights, which would bar in-state colleges and universities from abiding by the NCAA?s rules on scholarships, health insurance coverage, agent relationships, and enforcement actions and would effectively pull all California colleges and universities out of the NCAA. The California Senate passed SB 193 on May 29, 2003. The Assembly?s Higher Education