Congressman Michael Baumgartner has publicly expressed his concerns about the limitations of the SCORE Act and broader issues facing college sports through a series of posts on December 4, 2025.
In a post at 01:08 UTC, Baumgartner listed several shortcomings he sees in the SCORE Act, stating that it does not “treat ALL athletes and ALL sports equally,” “Ban Private Equity buying college sports,” “Cap coaches salaries,” “Fix NIL/transfer anarchy,” “End Transcontinental conferences,” [or] “Put accountable grownups in charge, not TV execs”.
Later that day at 01:23 UTC, Baumgartner criticized the leadership within collegiate athletics, specifically mentioning the Big Ten Conference. He wrote, “If the Commissioner of the Big 10 would spend LESS money trying to buy votes w DC lobbyists and make MORE of an effort to STOP being a bullying jackass, then Congress could get on with passing some reasonable legislation to fix college sports. “
At 05:14 UTC, Baumgartner advocated for a more coordinated legislative approach by suggesting the formation of a select congressional committee. He posted, “Congress should for a select committee on College Sports to untangle many of the legitimate issues raised by below. One of the problems this year is that 4 Committees have jurisdiction over the issue and their isn’t the coordinated focus necessary to create a need bi-partisan”.
The debate over reforming college sports governance has intensified in recent years as stakeholders address challenges related to athlete compensation (NIL), conference realignment across large geographic distances, and increasing involvement from private equity firms. Multiple Congressional committees currently oversee aspects of college athletics policy, which can result in fragmented approaches and slow progress toward bipartisan solutions.
