University of Missouri Athletic Director Laird Veatch is backing a college sports bill championed by U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri.
The Protect College Sports Act would create national standards for name, image and likeness compensation, athlete transfers and eligibility. Veatch told Missourinet the legislation is needed because colleges are facing increasing pressure in a rapidly changing environment.
“It’s a very, very tenuous time and really, really challenging, a lot of pressures for a lot of people,” Veatch said. “Without that kind of legal authority, we can’t even govern ourselves. We can’t put rules in place and continue to manage those without that kind of help.”
Veatch also pointed to the financial strain many athletic departments face as NIL compensation becomes a larger part of college sports.
“I mean, there’s a lot of challenges,” Veatch said. “Obviously, just the onset of NIL and the compensation era for student-athletes. The pressures of that put pressure on everything else too, because we have to put so much focus and effort on driving that because that ultimately leads to winning and success.”
He said schools that struggle to remain competitive could face even greater financial difficulties.
The legislation has cleared a U.S. Senate committee and is awaiting consideration by the full Senate.
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