College sports has a unique place in South Dakota. It’s deeply rooted in our communities and families. Many college athletes at our state’s schools are South Dakotans themselves, and they have the opportunity in college to compete at a high level with the support of their friends, parents, and neighbors.
Anyone who knows me knows I’m a big sports fan, and I spend a lot of time at games around South Dakota. But in the last several years, whether I’m in a high school gym on a Friday night or at a tailgate on a Saturday morning, the current state of college athletics is bound to come up in conversations with fellow fans. Anyone who follows college sports knows that these last few years have been complex and, at times, chaotic, and that the status quo cannot continue.
At the end of September, the U.S. Senate passed a bill to restore stability to the college sports ecosystem. The Protect College Sports Act would preserve the opportunities that have been available for generations of student athletes while ensuring these opportunities can coexist with the new opportunities available to the current generation of athletes.
Restoring stability to college sports begins with uniform eligibility rules. The Senate-passed bill would limit athletes to one transfer without loss of eligibility, a maximum five years of playing time, and bar professional athletes from competing in college athletics. Additionally, it would bring transparency to athlete compensation and protect student athletes from bad actors. And importantly, the Protect College Sports Act includes safeguards that preserve opportunities in women’s and Olympic sports.
This bill has been a work in progress for a number of years. I’ve sat down with college athletes, coaches, athletic directors, and college presidents in our state. Their input has been invaluable, and I’m proud that this bill has support from South Dakota universities and, most importantly, from hundreds of thousands of student athletes around the country.
As an athlete, fan, and member of a sports family, I’ve seen how sports shapes individuals and opens doors for them. My dad was a Big 10 basketball star in the 1940s. He had the chance to play point guard for the University of Minnesota, where he was the team MVP and the high point man at a game in Madison Square Garden – quite a journey for a small-town kid from South Dakota. My daughter ran cross country and track at Belmont University and was inducted in that school’s hall of fame.
The Protect College Sports Act is about ensuring that the same opportunities that were available to my dad and daughter will be available to the next generation of student athletes. We have a responsibility to protect college sports and preserve stability for athletes so they can focus on their sport, their education, and their future.