NCAA President Charlie Baker to testify during Senate hearing

NCAA President Charlie Baker is expected to testify in front of a Senate committee next week during the 10th hearing on Capitol Hill over the last three years on college sports.

The Senate Judiciary Committee announced it has scheduled a hearing on Name, Image and Likeness, and the Future of College Sports for next Tuesday.

Baker, the former governor of Massachusetts, took over as NCAA president in March and has been spending a lot of time in Washington lobbying lawmakers to help college sports with a federal law to regulate how athletes can be compensated for their fame.

Several bills have been introduced by federal lawmakers lately, including two bipartisan efforts from the senate, but still there has been little movement toward serious action on a issue that has been a topic of conversation since the summer of 2020.

“I do get worried about Congress micromanaging the rules of endorsement deals or transfer portals or compensation,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told members of the athletic directors’ association LEAD1 last month at a gathering in Washington.

Baker is expected to be joined next week by Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti.

While college sports leaders have repeatedly said federal intervention that prevents college athletes from being deemed employees is the best solution for NIL, the NCAA is working on finally passing its own detailed rules.

The NCAA Division I Council last week introduced several proposals to bring transparency to NIL transactions and oversight of those who want to work with students. They could be voted on as soon as January and a working group is still discussing more ways to regulate NIL payments to athletes.