H.R. 5693

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5693 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5693

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit certain private-
equity and sovereign wealth fund agreements involving intercollegiate 
athletics.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 6, 2025

Mr. Baumgartner introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit certain private-
equity and sovereign wealth fund agreements involving intercollegiate 
athletics.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Protect College Sports from Private 
Equity and Foreign Influence Act'' or the ``PROTECT Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) Intercollegiate athletics are conducted under the 
auspices of nonprofit institutions of higher education and, 
when properly governed, promote student development, campus 
life, community identity, and broad public engagement in 
education--benefits that constitute a public good aligned with 
the educational missions those institutions are chartered to 
serve.
(2) Intercollegiate athletics generate billions of dollars 
in revenue annually through national media contracts, 
sponsorships, and ticket sales that span multiple States, 
creating a significant impact on interstate commerce.
(3) Public institutions of higher education are financed 
and supported by taxpayers through direct appropriations, tax-
exempt status, subsidized Federal student aid, and tax-
advantaged debt, and therefore have a heightened obligation to 
ensure that institutional assets--including intercollegiate 
athletics programs and facilities--are managed for public 
benefit and student welfare rather than private enrichment.
(4) Agreements that convey ownership, revenue-sharing, 
control rights, or security interests in intercollegiate 
athletics to private equity, hedge funds, or similar vehicles 
are inherently conflicted, create pressure to maximize short-
term cash flows at the expense of educational and Title IX 
obligations, and risk extracting wealth from publicly supported 
institutions and their students--undermining transparency, 
accountability, and the public purposes for which those 
institutions exist.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS.

Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(30) Prohibition on private-capital and sovereign wealth 
agreements involving intercollegiate athletics.--
``(A) As a condition of eligibility under this 
title, an institution shall not enter into, maintain, 
or permit any agreement with a private capital firm or 
a sovereign wealth fund that--
``(i) transfers, assigns, pledges, or 
otherwise conveys to such firm or fund any 
ownership, profit, net-revenue, or gross-
revenue interest arising from the institution's 
intercollegiate athletics program, including 
media, sponsorship, licensing, ticketing, 
premium seating, data, or other commercial 
rights;
``(ii) grants such firm or fund control 
rights over athletics decisions, institutional 
branding, scheduling, personnel, or student 
participation; or
``(iii) establishes a joint venture, new 
entity, or other agreement through which such 
firm or fund receives any share of, or any 
interest in, athletics-related revenues or 
rights, including licensing and merchandising 
rights, or athletics facilities or related real 
property including any leasehold, sublease, 
concession, easement, mortgage, deed of trust, 
lien, or similar property interest.
``(B) Exceptions.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply 
to:
``(i) fee-for-service contracts for 
discrete services;
``(ii) charitable contributions, gifts, or 
grants;
``(iii) tax-exempt bond financings or 
lease-purchase agreements with governmental 
units or Sec. 501(c)(3) conduit issuers that do 
not convey revenue interests or control rights 
to a private capital firm; or
``(iv) sponsorships or advertising 
agreements that provide brand placement without 
revenue-sharing or control.
``(C) Conference and affiliate coverage.--An 
institution shall ensure compliance with this paragraph 
for any agreement entered by an athletics conference, 
media-rights consortium, or other affiliate that 
allocates, assigns, or encumbers the institution's 
athletics-related revenues or rights.
``(D) Collectives and controlled entities.--This 
paragraph applies to any collective, foundation, 
affiliate, or separate legal entity that is directly or 
indirectly owned, controlled, or operated by the 
institution or its athletics department.
``(E) Certification and disclosure.--The Secretary 
shall require annual program participation agreement 
certification that the institution and its affiliates 
have not entered into any agreement described under 
subparagraph (A) and shall require public disclosure of 
all agreements relying on an exception under 
subparagraph (B).
``(F) Definitions.--For purposes of this paragraph:
``(i) Private capital firm.--The term 
`private capital firm' means (I) a hedge fund 
or private equity fund as those terms are 
defined in 12 U.S.C. Sec. 1851(h)(2), (II) a 
private fund as defined in 15 U.S.C. Sec. 80b-
2(a)(29), and (III) any investment adviser (as 
defined in 15 U.S.C. Sec. 80b-2(a)(11)) that 
advises a fund described in subclause (I) or 
(II).
``(ii) Control rights.--The term `control 
rights' includes consent, veto, or approval 
rights over budgets, hiring, scheduling, 
competition, branding, or strategic decisions; 
or other rights to assume or direct management 
or operations of an intercollegiate athletics 
program or athletics facility.
``(iii) Intercollegiate athletics 
program.--The term `intercollegiate athletics 
program' includes teams, departments, 
conferences, media or data rights, ticketing 
and premium seating, sponsorships, licensing 
and merchandising, and athletics facilities 
used primarily for intercollegiate varsity 
sports competition.
``(iv) Sovereign wealth fund.--The term 
`sovereign wealth fund' means an investment 
fund owned or controlled by a foreign state, an 
agency or instrumentality of a foreign state 
(as defined in 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1603), or an 
agent of a foreign principal (as defined in 22 
U.S.C. Sec. 611).
``(G) Transition.--Agreements in effect on the date 
of enactment shall be brought into compliance or 
terminated not later than 24 months after such date. No 
agreement may be renewed or extended except in 
compliance with this paragraph.
``(H) Rulemaking.--The Secretary of Education shall 
issue regulations to carry out this paragraph after 
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the 
Securities and Exchange Commission; and shall, to the 
maximum extent practicable, harmonize such regulations 
with definitions and interpretations under the Federal 
securities laws.''.
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