Division I conference commissioners send letter to Congress, push for passing of SCORE Act

The commissioners of all 31 Division I conferences sent a letter to congressional leaders on Friday, urging them to pass the SCORE Act, a bipartisan bill in the House of Representatives intended to support college sports but one that has drawn criticism for putting restrictions on athletes.

The letter from the College Commissioners Association was addressed to the chairmen and ranking members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the House Committee on Education and Workforce and the House Judiciary Committee.

The conference leaders who signed on represent leagues with 353 NCAA Division I schools in 49 states and Washington, D.C.

The Conference Commissioners Association, representing all Division I leagues, sent a letter to Congressional leaders this morning urging them to pass the SCORE Act. pic.twitter.com/OnErw1mZ5P

— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoATH) October 10, 2025

The letter is an important show of support after there was some dissension among conference leaders. Ten conferences — including the Big Sky, Atlantic 10 and Southern conferences — that do not compete at the highest level of college football had withheld support because of concerns about how SCORE’s antitrust exemption would interact with NCAA governance.

Concerns the bill could give the wealthiest conferences too much power over Division I membership requirements were addressed and those conferences separately sent a letter to Congress two weeks ago throwing support behind SCORE.

SCORE passed through House committees during the summer, becoming the first college sports bill to do so after years of lobbying by conference leaders and the NCAA for a federal law to help regulate name, image and likeness compensation for athletes and other aspects of the enterprise.

SCORE would provide some antitrust protections to conferences and the NCAA, pre-empt state laws that have created a patchwork of NIL rules across the country and ensure that college athletes are not deemed employees.

SCORE would also codify and bolster a new revenue-sharing system that was agreed upon by the NCAA and power conferences as part of a $2.8 billion settlement of three antitrust lawsuits this past summer. For the first time, schools are now permitted to directly pay athletes, with a cap of about $20.5 million this year.

“We believe we are on common ground not just among each other, but with members of both parties in Congress as well as the American public in our desire to have college sports return to a state of stability,” the letter said. “We believe this because our model produces class upon class of citizens and leaders, in many cases to student-athletes who but for their athletics ability would not be able to attend college. In addition, funding and training provided by our institutions is the primary source for the U.S. Olympic pipeline.”

While the commissioners’ letter is the most unified backing of SCORE yet, there is still work to be done on the bill. It has yet to go to the House floor for debate and a vote. Even if it does pass the House, as is, SCORE is unlikely to get enough support to pass the Senate.

College sports leaders are hoping public support for SCORE can reignite lawmakers to take action on the bill whenever the current government shutdown ends.

“We support moving the SCORE Act process forward, with immediate consideration to the addition of athlete enforcement, narrowing broad antitrust exemption, protecting competitive balance for every Division I institution and amending the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to include college sports, providing an option to solve industry-wide economic challenges in the future,” American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti said.

Amending the Sports Broadcasting Act to allow conferences to pool media rights has become a divisive topic in college sports.

Late last month, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), one of the most vocal critics of SCORE on Capitol Hill, introduced another college sports bill that included amending the SBA, but did not provide antitrust protections to the NCAA and conferences and does not address athlete employment status.

Cantwell’s bill, the Student Athlete Fairness Enforcement (SAFE) Act, also calls for the creation of a new committee within the NCAA to “help maximize revenue for all schools and conferences” that would not be controlled by the wealthiest leagues.

SAFE does not yet have any Republican support in the Senate.

Amending the SBA is also being pushed by billionaire oilman and Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell, who ran television ads during the first few weeks of the college football season promoting the idea.

Many in college sports are skeptical of the idea and lawmakers who have worked on the SCORE Act have said adding an SBA amendment to college sports legislation would grind the process to a halt.

Even if adjustments need to be made to SCORE, college sports leaders are hoping its passage will keep momentum behind the issue in Washington and ultimately lead to resolution.

“We urge you to pass the SCORE Act and look forward to continuing to work with you to develop and secure legislation that best serves the long-term interests of college sports,” the letter said.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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