Clayton Palumbo ’29
Executive News Editor
On Sept. 28, the United States Senate voted to pass the Protect College Sport Act by a 77-22 vote. This marks a major moment in the ever-shifting landscape of college sports, with constant conference realignment, playoff expansion and unregulated NIL deals and player transfers.
When asked about his initial reaction to the bill, Trinity Athletic Director Gavin Viano said, “I don’t think it’s controversial to say that this is being written for the 20 to 80 largest, most lucrative athletic programs in the country, and the NCAA is made up of over 1,100 programs. So we have a very, very public bill, which essentially is trying to legislate one percent — or less than one percent — of the association.” Viano went on to argue that there are more Division I and Division II schools that resemble Trinity than they do Ohio State. When asked whether or not he believed the bill would pass the House, Viano said, “In the two-ish weeks since the Senate passed it, we haven’t heard a word from the house. The speculation was that, as written by the Senate and passed by the Senate, it probably wouldn’t be passed as written by the House. The period of time between the election and the end of the congressional cycle is likely going to be a lot more telling than where we are right now.” Viano reiterated that the issues which may be important for the largest, wealthiest athletic programs in the country — the elimination of waivers, regulations for judges ruling on cases related to the NCAA and increasingly convoluted eligibility rules — are not issues that affect Trinity, or “95 percent of the NCAA” on a daily basis.
Instead, the most important issue regarding the NESCAC right now is whether or not to adopt the NCAA’s new “5-in-5” eligibility rule, which eliminates the traditional red-shirt system and medical hardship waivers, instead giving every student-athlete five years to play five competitive seasons. However, each division has autonomy over their own governance, and Viano shared that at the most recent NESCAC Athletic Director’s meeting, the main focus was whether or not the conference should adopt the “5-in-5” rule, because, as Viano put it, “we don’t have to, and Division III just voted against red-shirting last year, so in a way it feels like we’re basically voting on it again.” The official vote will be cast at the NCAA convention in January.
ESPN mentioned that if the PCSA was passed, the number of roster spots for Division II and III teams would increase, however, Viano stated that “Division III has always had unlimited roster limits,” and that this perceived increase would be purely arbitrary. The only sport in the NESCAC which does not currently operate with unlimited roster limits is football, which enforces a limit of 84 players during the season. This has been the subject of much discussion and controversy; Dan DiCenzo, the Head Football Coach at Wesleyan University, stated in a video posted to The Third Division’s social media pages that enforcing this limit for only one varsity sport “goes against all of Division III’s philosophy and goes against our NESCAC core values.” When prompted on his view of the football roster limit, Viano declined to comment.
Viano reiterated that the true impact of the bill will not be known until it passes through the House, which is unlikely to happen before the midterm elections. He guaranteed that the College and the athletics department remain fully committed to supporting student-athletes and will adapt to fit the current rules and regulations as outlined by the NCAA, Division III and the NESCAC. He added the College will always support student-athletes’ ability to profit from their name, image and likeness if the opportunity is presented to them, while emphasizing that the College has never, directly or indirectly, paid a student-athlete to compete in any way.
