Live Blog: SEC, college leaders descend on Capitol Hill to lobby for NIL reform 

WASHINGTON – Some of the biggest power brokers in college athletics are in Washington, D.C., these next few days meeting with lawmakers to discuss the need for NIL regulation. It’s a similar cry to what conference commissioners said last summer. Except this time around, new NCAA president Charlie Baker is leading the charge.

On3 is on site and breaking down the latest happenings.

SEC at the Capitol, Arizona reception wrap up

9 p.m. ET Wednesday: Night one on Capitol Hill has wrapped up, with plenty of chit chat among stakeholders and not the most positive takeaways.

At the SEC at the Capitol, a few leaders could only shrug when asked how the day’s meetings went. It’s clear lawmakers are up to speed on what is happening at this point. There is not a learning curve any more, with staffers rushing to figure out what NIL stands for.

That said, it’s clear college athletics is on the to-do list. It also is not a priority at this moment. Many had a similar tone at the Future of College Sports reception in the Senate wing of the Capitol. A few noted that they had yet to see an elected official even stop by the event.

Here is who I saw at the SEC at the Capitol:

Greg SankeyGreg ByrneNick SabanHugh FreezeBruce PearlScott StricklinTrinity ThomasJohn CalipariMitch BarnhartMark KeenumZach ArnettZac SelmonRoss Bjork

Texas A&M AD Ross Bjork met with Sen. Ted Cruz

7:15 p.m. ET Wednesday: Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork met with Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a source told On3 on Wednesday night.

The new ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, many believe any NIL legislation will have to go through that committee. NCAA president Charlie Baker also recently met with the senator, according to Sports Illustrated.

U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) have been working on a federal bill on college athletics but a bill has been yet to be introduced.

Ken Cedeno-Pool/Getty Images

Could the SEC create its own NIL guidelines?

5:30 p.m. ET Wednesday – While meeting with the media on Wednesday, University of Arizona president Robert Robbins stressed his belief that federal aid is needed with NIL reform.

“I think for a holistic comprehensive solution, it’s probably going to have to be the U.S. Congress,” Robbins said. “You have this patchwork of state legislation. I’m sure (SEC Commissioner) Greg Sankey will talk about this tomorrow because even in the SEC footprint you have different states with different laws.

“It’s not a level playing field.”

Robbins pointed out there would be advantages to having federal NIL oversight, compared to what the NCAA is trying to formulate and enforce now with its interim policy.

“It depends on what they come up with,” Robbins said. “I had not paid as much attention to the idea that there may be a federal agency for oversight of college sports. The advantage of that would be that they would have subpoena power and enforcement power.”

Robbins was also asked about the discussion that Sankey could get legislators and college leaders in the SEC footprint to abide by the same set of NIL guidelines.

“I like the idea,” Robbins said. “If anybody can do it, he probably can do it. It’s like running a 4.3 (40-yard-dash) in water. It’s going to be a big lift.”

Hunter Yurachek on NIL impact

4:45 p.m. ET Wednesday — Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek was among the group of SEC officials to make the trip to D.C. this week.

For many athletic directors, the last two years have been a blur. Name, image and likeness has created a new norm across college athletics. And that’s not to everyone’s liking.

Speaking about the impacts NIL has brought to Arkansas, Yurachek made mentioned of not as many athletes leaving for the professional ranks, which appeared to be a different take on the matter.

“Young men and women are making decisions not to go to Major League Baseball or the WNBA or the NBA because they can make more money in college,” Yurachek said, via the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Matt Jones. “Does that make any sense, that you can make more money by staying in college than you can by going and being a professional athlete? That’s where we have some issues in college athletics.”

Sen. Tommy Tuberville meets with Auburn officials, talks need to protect players

3 p.m. ET Wednesday – U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) have been working on a bill that could garner bipartisan support in the Senate. While the bill has yet to be introduced, the two Senators have spent over a year talking with administrators, coaches and collectives.

If the bill is narrow enough and does not include any language surrounding athletes not classified as employees of institutions, it could gain momentum. Tuberville met with a delegation from Auburn on Wednesday in his offices.

“Today we are meeting with coaches, athletic directors and administrators from several different conferences here in Washington, D.C., talking about the disastrous new NIL rules,” he said in a video released by his office. “And they are a disaster.

“… “So we’ll meet up here this week. We’ll have some discussions. We have a text of a bill already finished. We’re going to make improvements (to) it. Joe Manchin and I have been working on this for at least a year.”

Tommy Tuberville/Twitter

MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher meets with Ohio Rep. Bob Latta

12:45 p.m. ET Wednesday – Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher is in town for a couple days. He is slated to speak at Thursday’s Future of College Sports summit as a panelist. During the day Wednesday, he met with Ohio Rep. Bob Latta to chat NIL, the transfer portal and athlete welfare.

Collectives, coaches to converge on Washington D.C. over push for NIL uniformity

Noon ET Wednesday – The next few days on Capitol Hill could be looked back upon as the start of real movement on the issue of name, image and likeness. The SEC is sending a delegation up to Washington, D.C., this week to meet with lawmakers in the conference’s footprint. Commissioner Greg Sankey and Alabama head coach Nick Saban are leading the effort.

All of this, however, could be another fruitless effort. The NCAA has been lobbying for a bill that includes antitrust protections, a uniform NIL standard and language that would ensure athletes are not employees of their schools.

Saban is scheduled to meet with Majority Leader Steve Scalise, according to Sports Illustrated. Each school’s convoy will meet with its state delegation. There will be crossover, too. Per SI, Mississippi State president Mark Keenum and school officials are expected to meet with Republican Marsha Blackburn, the Senator from Tennessee who is a Mississippi State graduate.

On3’s Pete Nakos has more details about what to expect Wednesday.

Make sure to follow along on Twitter and subscribe to On3’s YouTube page. Also, be sure to subscribe to the On3 NIL and Sports Business Newsletter.

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