06/16/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/16/2025 16:12
Washington, D.C. - During a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on the rapidly shifting Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) landscape and it's impact in collegiate athletics, Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) focused on how Congress can help advance an enforceable national NIL standard that benefits smaller Division One schools like the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University. Check out key exchanges from the hearing below:
ON NIL POLICIES THAT BENEFIT ALL PROGRAMS:
Congresswoman Fedorchak: I represent the entire state of North Dakota, which includes both the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University, two division one FCS schools. We're very proud of our schools, but they are probably the exact size school that's going to be particularly challenged in this new environment. I really appreciate you all sharing your expertise and your experiences here today and just have a couple questions for you. Mr. King, given the wide disparity in budgets and resources among Division One institutions, from 10 million to 300 million, how can we ensure that national NIL policies don't disproportionately benefit the power four programs while effectively marginalizing non-autonomy conferences like the Big South or institutions like the University of North Dakota or North Dakota State?
Mr. King: So, from a national standpoint, as opposed to 50 different state laws, having uniformity is obviously important, and then allowing as much freedom as possible for the student athletes, while achieving the goal of having some regulation, some structure, rather than just completely unregulated, which is where we basically are now. The House settlement, which, if it is codified as part of federal legislation, maintains that, but it provides structure in that the NIL agreements will be submitted and reviewed to make sure that they're not pay-for-play and that they're not fake NIL. I'm speculating, but I would imagine that that is less of an issue in North Dakota and North Dakota State, although I will note that you have really, really good football.
Congresswoman Fedorchak: And hockey-don't forget our hockey.
Mr. King: We don't, we don't do hockey. So I'm not as familiar, but I know you're good at football, and that the type of regulation I'm talking about would make it more difficult for someone to come to one of your players and say, 'please transfer We have this deal to you to give you,' which is not really NIL; it's fake NIL. That sort of regulation would be uniform.
ON HELPING SMALLER SCHOOLS RETAIN TALENT:
Congresswoman Fedorchak: Ms. Montgomery, thank you for your honesty today and your great testimony. You've raised concerns about the current lack of regulation around NIL agents and the risk of roster tampering; that's also a concern that our institutions have expressed. Can you provide examples of how this is affecting student athletes' or smaller schools' ability to retain talent, and what would be some of the solutions for addressing those issues?
Ms. Montgomery: Thank you so much for that question. I'll probably pick up where Mr. King left off, and the uniformity of those laws, while it will not completely abolish tampering, I do think it could curtail that aspect that is a very real concern. An example of that is if you were to have a football student athlete that decided they would like to reopen their recruitment process, they're now going to be able to confirm that the NIL opportunities that they are being offered and received are actually legitimate prior to making that decision. So I think that that is one example of how uniformity in the name, image, and likeness space will, once again, not abolish tampering, but it can curtail it from a standpoint of student athletes being able to ensure they are considering legitimate opportunities instead of nefarious activity and/or pay for play.
ON ENFORCING NIL RULES:
Congresswoman Fedorchak: Do any of you have concerns about this governing commission that was established in the settlement and thoughts on what needs to be done to clarify their roles and responsibility, their oversight authority, how we're going to have some enforcement through that group or whoever else is going to be enforcing these new rules and regs?
Mr. Huma: Thank you. Thanks for that question. I think in the context of Congress, if Congress looks to a third- party enforcement mechanism, it should not be one where the conferences is solely select. You know that there should be it should be neutral number one, and it shouldn't just focus on whatever the parameters may be. Economically, it needs to focus on safety standards, any of the benefit protection that athletes have. The athletes need a referee, because otherwise it'd be they'd be taken advantage of.
Congresswoman Fedorchak: Thank you. I have 15 seconds. Anybody else? thoughts on that?
Mr. King: I tried to get in ahead of Mr. Huma, but failed. The College Sports Commission has been created to bring life to the settlement, to create a mechanism nationally, to regulate and monitor institutional revenue share, to make sure that people don't exceed the limit, to regulate NIL, as I talked about, to ferret out pay-for-play or fake NIL to make sure that it's legitimate, and to enforce, to create rules and enforce those that is already created, rules to come to bring to life the specifics of the settlement, and then there will be rules made in the future to try to prevent people from circumventing or getting around the settlement. So absolutely, I'm very confident in the ability of that commission to regulate in this area effectively moving forward.