Only 32 percent of trustees understand their fiduciary duties when it comes to athletics, according to a survey by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. AGB held a two-day conference just outside Washington, D.C., to address the changing state of college athletics. AGB President and CEO Ross Mugler said Tuesday that governing boards are responsible for overseeing how their institutions respond to athletics.
Trustees Lack Athletics Knowledge
Only 32 percent of trustees understand their fiduciary duties when it comes to athletics, according to a survey by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. AGB held a two-day conference just outside Washington, D.C., to address the changing state of college athletics. AGB President and CEO Ross Mugler said Tuesday that governing boards are responsible for overseeing how their institutions respond to athletics.¹²³⁴
Gabe Feldman, director of the Tulane Sports Law Program and Tulane University's associate provost for NCAA compliance, said rules are changing, sometimes on a daily basis, depending on how lawsuits are playing out and whether injunctions are granted or not. He said every school involved in at least Division I athletics needs to be following or have someone following these daily events.¹²³⁴
Protect College Sports Act Faces Hurdles
The Protect College Sports Act passed the Senate in September but is still awaiting a vote in the House. The bill would grant some antitrust protections to the NCAA. The NCAA has lobbied for the bill, as have dozens of universities and outside organizations including Kalshi and Walt Disney.¹²³
Sarah Hubbard, a University of Michigan regent, said she has thrown her support behind the bill because she believes it's important to pass it now.
Robert Mangas, an attorney with Greenberg Traurig, said the bill faces significant hurdles in getting through the House. There are five weeks left in the congressional calendar year, which could pose a major obstacle to passing the bill before new members take office.¹
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Read More →Sarah Hubbard, a University of Michigan regent, said she has thrown her support behind the bill because she believes it's important to pass it now. Hubbard, a Republican who has been involved with the Saving College Sports organization founded by Texas Tech University Regent Cody Campbell, said she is worried about what the new Congress would come back with that would be much worse for higher ed and college athletics.¹²³⁴
Financial Pressures on Athletic Programs
A Government Accountability Office report found that 94 percent of Division I programs and all DII programs lost money in the 2023–24 academic year. The UNC system spent $640 million on sports programs across 15 institutions in the 2025 fiscal year but earned just $412 million in revenues from athletics.¹²³⁴
Josh Lassiter, vice president for financial health and strategy in the University of North Carolina system, said none of the system's athletic programs were self-sufficient, including at UNC Chapel Hill. Saint Joseph's University President Cheryl McConnell shared how she tested the board's long-held assumptions on athletics.¹²³
Florida State's Board of Trustees met with Seminole Booster President Stephen Ponder, university president Richard McCullough, and interim director of athletics Bruce Warwick for a meeting on the future of the university's athletic program. Board chairman Peter Collins said the meeting took place last week and outlined necessary but "not sexy" changes to the program's athletic operation.¹²³⁴
He said FSU's multimedia rights receipts have been essentially flat for the last seven years and have been a quarter of what they should be, and probably a fifth of what they could be.²³
Florida State's Athletic Challenges
The Seminoles football program sits at 3-4 and 1-3 in the ACC, and is 10-21 in the last season under head coach Mike Norvell. The university fired Michael Alford in September, and Bruce Warwick has operated as the interim AD since.²⁴
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Read More →Peter Collins said FSU underperforms woefully on monetizing its brand. He said FSU's multimedia rights receipts have been essentially flat for the last seven years and have been a quarter of what they should be, and probably a fifth of what they could be.²³
Peter Collins said FSU supports the Protect College Sports Act for "98%" of the bill. FSU was one of four ACC schools (Clemson, FSU, Miami, North Carolina) that penned a letter opposing Section 205 of the act, which limits conference realignment and caps conference membership.¹²³
The PCSA was amended in the Senate to raise the conference cap from 19 to 20. Conference realignment still requires multiple years of independence for any institution looking to change its conference allegiance, but it was shortened from five years to three.¹²
Athletics Jobs Demand Financial Reality Checks
If you work in college athletics administration, your value now hinges on financial literacy, not just passion for the game. With 94 percent of Division I programs and all Division II programs losing money in 2023–24, and the UNC system spending $640 million while earning $412 million, leaders need staff who can model budgets and find revenue. The University of North Carolina system's own findings showed no athletic program was self-sufficient, including at UNC Chapel Hill, so expect more roles focused on cost control and monetization, not just operations.¹²³⁴
Athletics Jobs Demand Financial Reality Checks If you work in college athletics administration, your value now hinges on financial literacy, not just passion for the game.
For anyone in sports law or compliance, the Protect College Sports Act is the key variable. The bill passed the Senate in September but faces hurdles in the House, with only five weeks left in the congressional calendar year. Rules change almost daily based on lawsuits and injunctions, so every Division I school needs someone tracking these events. If you are negotiating a contract or advising a university, prepare for a revenue-share cap near $48.8 million and a five-year eligibility window, but also plan for the possibility the bill fails and the landscape shifts again.¹²³⁴
Sources
- insidehighered.com — https://www.insidehighered.com/news/governance/trustees-regents/2026/11/13/trustees-grapple-changing-world-college-athletics
- indystar.com — https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/fsu/2026/10/30/florida-state-seminoles-athletics-football-board-of-trustees-peter-collins-mike-norvell/92515206007/
- wusf.org — https://www.wusf.org/sports/2026-08-04/state-officials-navigate-changing-college-athletics-landscape
- agb.org — https://agb.org/trusteeship-article/column-how-are-sports-and-the-law-changing-college-athletics/
Written by Career Ahead AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify key facts. Report errors to support@careeraheadonline.com
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