{"database": "openregs", "table": "crs_reports", "rows": [["R48931", "Sports Reform in the United States: College Athletics and the Olympic Sports Pipeline", "2026-04-28T04:00:00Z", "2026-05-02T05:53:42Z", "Active", "Reports", "Ben Wilhelm", null, "In the United States, the last decade has seen substantial disruption of both college and Olympic sports. The two systems are closely integrated because college athletic programs function as an essential part of America\u2019s Olympic sports pipeline by providing opportunities for elite training and competition to top athletes. College sports, in particular, are in the process of a substantial transformation brought on by the National Collegiate Athletic Association\u2019s (NCAA\u2019s) 2021 decision\u2014under pressure from courts, state legislatures, and other stakeholders\u2014to pause enforcement of its rules that barred student-athletes from making money by signing agreements with third parties allowing for the use of their personal name, image, and likeness (NIL). Following that decision, the NCAA, member institutions, and current and former players settled a lawsuit challenging those rules. In their place, the parties have agreed to a system that allows most NIL payments as well as revenue sharing with players from their institutions.\nThese changes have the potential to significantly alter the American collegiate and Olympic sports landscapes. Collegiate athletic departments have a long history of offering major spectator sports such as football and basketball, which can generate enough revenue to support themselves, as well as a variety of Olympic sports, which generally do not. Cost considerations aside, collegiate support is vitally important for Olympic sports, as intercollegiate competition through colleges and universities is the primary training ground for athletes working to break through into elite, international competition. Additionally, because colleges and universities fund Olympic sports training, there is substantially less pressure on the federal government to provide dedicated funding for elite sports, which is how most other countries fund their Olympic programs. \nIn the face of this legal and financial uncertainty for intercollegiate and Olympic sports, many stakeholders believe that Congress may be uniquely positioned to address some of the key issues related to college sports in a way that both provides certainty for organizations including the NCAA and locks in rights and protections for athletes. This report examines these issues, what legislative options Congress might have if it chooses to act, and what proposals are currently under consideration.\n", "https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R48931/R48931.1.pdf", "https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/HTML/R48931.html"]], "columns": ["id", "title", "publish_date", "update_date", "status", "content_type", "authors", "topics", "summary", "pdf_url", "html_url"], "primary_keys": ["id"], "primary_key_values": ["R48931"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.4880650667473674, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}