{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://baumgartner.house.gov/2025/10/07/not-sale-baumgartner-introduces-bill-stop-hedge-funds-carving-college-sports/", "Not for Sale: Baumgartner Introduces Bill to Stop Hedge Funds from Carving Up College Sports", "2025-10-07", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "House", "WA", "Michael Baumgartner", "B001322", "baumgartner.house.gov", "baumgartner", "https://baumgartner.house.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "| Press Releases\n\nWASHINGTON- Congressman Michael Baumgartner (WA-05), chair of the bipartisan College Sports Caucus and Vice Chair of the Higher Education Subcommittee of the Education and the Workforce Committee, introduced H.R.5693, the PROTECT Act, to prevent private equity from taking control of college sports or leveraging future athletics revenues and other assets as collateral for private and foreign investors.\n\nThe announcement follows reports that a major conference is considering a multi-billion-dollar private equity deal tied to a new commercial arm and extended grant-of-rights.\n\n\u201cCollege sports serve an educational mission\u2014and they\u2019re sustained by billions in annual public subsidies and tax advantages,\u201d said Congressman Baumgartner. \u201cAssets under the control of universities should be managed in service of that public, educational mission\u2014not carved up as a new asset class for private equity, hedge funds, or foreign sovereign wealth funds. My bill draws a bright line: schools and conferences shouldn\u2019t sell, pledge, or outsource control of their core athletics revenues or operations to outside financiers. If we want to keep opportunities broad for student-athletes\u2014especially women\u2019s and Olympic sports\u2014we can\u2019t mortgage their future to the highest bidder.\u201d\n\n\u201cColleges aren\u2019t pro franchises,\u201d Baumgartner added. \u201cThey\u2019re stewards of a public trust. The money always comes with strings\u2014and the cuts hit the sports and opportunities that matter most in our communities.\u201d\n\nKey Provisions of the PROTECT Act:\n\nAmends the Title IV Program Participation Agreement (PPA) under the Higher Education Act to prohibit agreements with private equity, hedge funds, or foreign sovereign wealth funds that:\n\nShare or pledge core athletics revenues or media rights;\n\nGrant governance or control over athletics operations;\n\n\u201cPark\u201d rights in joint ventures or real estate vehicles that dilute institutional control;\n\nOr otherwise allow financiers to direct or operate college sports programs.\n\nApplies to conferences and affiliated entities, including media and marketing arms and NIL clearinghouses, when they function as athletics affiliates.\n\nCloses loopholes that could allow off-balance-sheet maneuvers designed to circumvent these restrictions.\n\nExemptions Include:\n\nGifts and endowments from donors;\n\nOrdinary fee-for-service vendor contracts (ticketing, security, travel, production) that do not leverage the assets of college sports programs;\n\nRoutine marketing sponsorships and advertising arrangements;\n\nTraditional bank loans and public bonds for facilities or operations, provided they do not pledge core media rights or grant control to prohibited entities.\n\nMedia-driven realignment, rising costs, and the transition to athlete revenue-sharing are pressuring budgets across Division I. Short-term cash infusions tied to outside equity stakes and revenue pledges risk core athletics assets and narrows opportunities for non-revenue sports.", 1, "2026-06-27T20:01:11Z", "2026-06-27T22:31:14Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://baumgartner.house.gov/2025/10/07/not-sale-baumgartner-introduces-bill-stop-hedge-funds-carving-college-sports/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7933462038636208, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}