After a high-stakes White House meeting, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has staked his legacy on the SCORE Act, calling it the only viable federal solution to control spiraling NIL costs and provide liability protections for schools—a position backed by President Trump but facing fierce congressional resistance.
The college sports landscape teeters on the brink of financial chaos, and Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark believes he has the only lifeline: the SCORE Act. Following a “very constructive” meeting with President Donald Trump and other NCAA leaders on March 6, Yormark has emerged with unwavering conviction that this legislation is the definitive path forward (AP News).
At stake is the entire economic model of collegiate athletics. The unchecked expansion of name, image, and likeness (NIL) payments has triggered a spiraling cost crisis, with high-revenue sports like football and men’s basketball threatening to bankrupt smaller programs and women’s athletics. Yormark’s message is clear: without federal intervention, the system will collapse under its own weight.
What Is the SCORE Act? A Legislative Lifeboat
The SCORE Act—formally the “Safe and Fair Oversight, Registration, and Enforcement of College Sports Act”—is designed to be a comprehensive reset. Its core provisions include granting the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption, which would empower it to enforce rules without constant litigation, and preempting state NIL laws to create a uniform national framework (AP News).
Yormark breaks down the bill’s guiding principles as non-negotiable:
- Federal Protection: Establishes a nationwide standard, ending the patchwork of state laws that create competitive imbalance.
- Liability Protection: Allows the NCAA and conferences to enforce rules, which is currently impossible amid a flood of lawsuits.
- Student-Athlete Protections: Includes safeguards for health, education, and financial transparency.
- Non-Employee Status: Explicitly declares athletes are not employees—a stance Yormark says is supported by the athletes themselves, who do not seek employee classification.
“It offers us meaningful guiding principles when you think about federal legislation,” Yormark stated. “While it’s a process—it’s not perfect—it’s step by step. But I do think the SCORE Act is a great step forward.”
Trump’s Gambit: Executive Order vs. Congressional Reality
President Trump’s involvement has injected unprecedented urgency. Hecalled the NIL crisis a threat that could “send the whole educational system out of business” and has promised an executive order within a week if Congress fails to act. However, the SCORE Act’s path in Congress remains treacherous.
Despite House Speaker Mike Johnson’s suggestion that the bill now has enough support to pass after previous struggles in the lower chamber, legislative momentum is fragile. The bill faces opposition from Democrats who reject the antitrust exemption as a giveaway to powerful conferences, and from others who argue it doesn’t go far enough to protect athletes’ rights.
Yormark cautioned that the SCORE Act “doesn’t stop anyone from suing,” but it does provide a critical shield against the avalanche of litigation targeting schools. The alternative—a continued free-for-all—could force mid-major and Olympic sports programs to disband entirely.
The Fan’s Dilemma: What This Means for Your Team
For fans, the implications are profound and personal. If the SCORE Act fails:
- Your school’s non-revenue sports—from swimming to gymnastics—face elimination as football and basketball hoard resources.
- Conference realignment chaos will accelerate, with only the wealthiest programs surviving, fracturing historic rivalries.
- Athlete compensation will become a Wild West, with no transparency or limits, potentially exploiting young athletes.
Yormark’s push reframes the debate from theoretical to existential. The “employee” debate, often academic in legal circles, is here: if athletes become employees, Title IX compliance, scholarship models, and the very essence of amateurism vaporize. The SCORE Act’s declaration that athletes are not employees is a direct attempt to prevent this seismic shift.
Fan-driven theories about billionaire donors or super conferences taking over are no longer hypothetical—they’re likely outcomes without federal structure. The White House meeting signals that the federal government sees college sports’ instability as a national issue, not just a conference squabble.
Why This Is the Last Best Chance
The timeline is compressed. With Trump’s executive order looming and Congress in session, the next few weeks are decisive. Yormark’s advocacy represents a unified front from power conferences, but the bill’s flaws—particularly the antitrust exemption—give opponents ammunition.
Yet the alternative is unthinkable. As Yormark put it, he’s not looking back; he’s focused on step-by-step progress. The SCORE Act, imperfect as it is, provides the only coherent framework to:
- Cap NIL-related costs that are driving schools toward insolvency.
- Restore the NCAA’s ability to govern with binding rules.
- Protect the Olympic pipeline by preserving smaller sports.
- Offer athletes federal safeguards without employee status.
The meeting at the White House wasn’t just symbolic—it was a pressure cooker moment where the future of college sports was framed as a national priority. Trump’s involvement ensures this won’t fade into the background.
Now, the onus is on Congress to act before the system fragments beyond repair. For fans of any school, big or small, the SCORE Act is the firewall against a future where only a handful of programs matter.
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