Federal Oversight Hits College Sports: New Bill Mandates Due Process, Threatens $15M Fines for NCAA

The “NCAA Accountability Act of 2025” is here, and it’s a big deal if you care about fairness in college sports—or if you simply think the people running the show need external checks. This bill doesn’t just tweak the rules; it completely federalizes the enforcement process for any massive athletic association (meaning one with over 900 member schools, like the NCAA). Starting one year after the bill is signed, these organizations must follow strict, federally enforced due process rules when investigating schools or athletes.

The New Rules of the Game: Due Process on a Clock

Think of this as setting up a strict legal calendar for college sports investigations. Right now, when a school gets investigated, the process can feel endless and opaque. This bill changes that by imposing hard deadlines (SEC. 2). If an association decides to launch a formal probe, they must send a written notice within 60 days. That notice has to spell out exactly who and what is being investigated—and it can only cover violations that occurred in the previous two years. Eight months after that first notice, the school must receive a formal “notice of allegations” detailing every charge and potential penalty. Crucially, the final hearing must start no later than one year after the initial inquiry notice. For schools and individuals facing scrutiny, this means the threat of an investigation can’t just hang over their heads indefinitely while careers and reputations are stalled.

No More Secret Sources or Kangaroo Courts

Perhaps the most significant change for those being investigated is the evidence standard. The bill explicitly states that the association cannot use any information gathered from secret sources as the basis for a disciplinary decision (SEC. 2). This is a massive win for transparency and fairness, essentially eliminating anonymous tips as the sole foundation for a ruling. Furthermore, if a school disagrees with the punishment, they have the right to force the dispute into binding commercial arbitration. This means they can take the fight outside the association’s internal committee and into a neutral, third-party forum, with the decision being final. For athletic departments, this provides a clear, external escape hatch from internal politics.

Enter the Feds: The AG Gets the Whistle

This is where the bill gets serious. The enforcement power isn't left to the athletic associations themselves; it goes straight to the U.S. Attorney General (AG). The AG is tasked with setting up a complaint system and investigating both formal complaints and any other violations they deem “worth looking into” (SEC. 4). If a violation of this new Act is found, the case goes before a Department of Justice Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). If the ALJ finds the association broke the rules, they must issue a cease-and-desist order and impose a civil penalty that starts at $10,000 but can soar up to $15,000,000.

That $15 million fine is the bill’s biggest stick. It’s a huge financial risk that forces compliance. While the AG’s office gains significant new authority—including the power to investigate on its own and even overturn an ALJ’s decision before it becomes final—this federal oversight is designed to ensure the associations treat due process seriously. It effectively elevates procedural fairness in college sports to a matter of federal law, backed by the full weight of the Justice Department. For the rest of us, it means that the powerful organizations running college sports now answer to a higher authority than their own rulebook.