College Sports Overhaul: New Federal Regulator Mandates Equal Pay for All Athletes and Caps Coach Salaries

This new piece of legislation, the Restore College Sports Act, doesn't just tweak the rules—it completely blows up the existing college sports structure, including the NCAA, and replaces it with a new, federally controlled organization. The bill establishes the American Collegiate Sports Association (ACSA), overseen by a Commissioner who must be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Why should you care? Because compliance with this new system is tied directly to whether a college can receive federal student aid, which means virtually every major school in the country has to play ball.

The New Financial Playbook: Everyone Gets a Slice

The biggest shift here is the money. The ACSA imposes radical revenue-sharing mandates designed to level the playing field for athletes. First, any money generated from a student-athlete’s Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL)—whether from the school itself or outside collectives—must be split equally among all student-athletes at that institution. If you’re a star quarterback, your NIL earnings are now shared with the track team, the swim team, and the golf team. Additionally, all general athletic revenue—think ticket sales, merchandise, and sponsorships—must be shared equally among all ACSA member schools and their student-athletes. The same goes for the massive TV broadcasting deals; that cash must be divided equally among every single institution. This is a huge win for smaller schools and non-revenue sports, which stand to gain significant, guaranteed funding from the behemoth football and basketball programs.

Coach Pay Caps and Transfer Freedom

If you’re a highly paid coach, this bill is going to sting. The Act imposes a hard salary cap: coaches cannot earn more than ten times the full cost of attendance for a student at that specific institution. For example, if the full cost of attendance (tuition, room, board, fees) at State University is $30,000, the head coach is capped at $300,000. This is a massive pay cut for coaches at elite programs who currently earn millions, and it’s a direct wealth transfer intended to fund the new revenue-sharing model. For student-athletes, the bill grants unconditional free transfer rights, meaning they can switch schools whenever they want without penalty or restriction, giving them unprecedented control over their careers.

Time Zones and Academic Integrity

In a move clearly aimed at protecting students’ academic schedules, the ACSA rules require that athletic conferences can only include member schools that are in the same time zone. This is a massive geographic restriction that would force the complete realignment, or dissolution, of many existing major conferences that currently span multiple time zones (like the Big Ten or the SEC). While the intent is solid—cutting down on brutal travel schedules that disrupt classes—the administrative headache and logistical challenge of redrawing the entire conference map would be immense. For the average student, this might mean fewer late-night games played thousands of miles away, potentially improving academic focus.

The Federalization of College Sports

By replacing the NCAA with the ACSA, which is led by a Presidentially-appointed Commissioner, the federal government is stepping directly into the regulation of college sports. The teeth of this bill lie in its update to the Higher Education Act of 1965 (Section 487(a)). Essentially, if a college wants to receive federal funding—which includes Pell Grants and federal student loans—it must certify that it is a member of the ACSA and is complying with all the mandatory revenue-sharing and conduct rules. This is a powerful regulatory lever, ensuring that even the most profitable athletic departments cannot opt out of the new financial structure without risking their entire institution's access to federal student aid.