Congress introduces new bill to provide uniform national guidelines for college sports

The past week has been a busy one for collegiate athletics. Last week, a judge approved the NCAA House settlement, officially bringing college sports into its revenue sharing era. The settlement figures to be just the start of numerous landmark changes to the industry in the coming months.

This week, Congress introduced a bill that would provide uniform national guidelines for college athletics. In a recent story, Steve Berkowitz of USA TODAY discussed the proposed bill.

"The bill and the discussion draft both include language that specifically would allow the NCAA, and potentially the new Collegiate Sports Commission, to make operational rules affecting schools and athletes in areas that have come into legal dispute in recent years and in areas that the NCAA wants to shield from future legal dispute.

"To back up that authority, the bill has specific provisions designed to shield the NCAA, the Commission, conferences and schools protection from lawsuits that could come from rules they adopt that are 'reasonably contemplated' under the bill. The discussion draft includes a 'placeholder' section for language that likely would be connected to providing antitrust or other legal protection for various provisions.

"Both proposals also include language that would require most Division I schools to provide a series of benefits for athletes that are currently called for under NCAA and some conferences’ rules, but do not have the force of federal law."

Based on Berkowitz's analysis, the proposed bill appears to benefit the NCAA more than it does the athletes themselves. While the bill is still in its early stages, it will be interesting to see if any athletes make statements in favor or against its ratification as it gets closer to being put to a vote.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Congress puts forth fresh national guidelines for college sports bill