As president of an institution that has been significantly impacted by the improper and illegal acts of athlete agents, I welcome the completion of the Uniform Athlete Agent Act (UAAA).

Four years ago, I, along with the NCAA, urged the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) to consider drafting a model law that would provide a uniform system for regulating athlete agents. The NCCUSL is a national organization that drafts uniform and model state laws and comprises more than 300 lawyers, judges, state legislators and law professors appointed by their respective states. After agreeing to tackle this important project, the NCCUSL convened an 11-person drafting committee that conducted drafting sessions over a three-year period. The meetings were open to the public and included representatives from the NCAA, staff from the professional league players associations, athlete agents and other interested parties.

As the NCCUSL drafting committee sought to create legislation that would effectively regulate agents, it first needed to identify the problems. These problems exist in two significant areas. First, there are many athlete agents or wanna-be agents who are motivated solely by financial considerations. These unscrupulous individuals are willing to use any means necessary to ensnare any student-athlete who has even a remote possibility of a professional career. The pernicious motivations of many agents and the significant damage caused by impermissible and illegal inducements to student-athletes require sensible legislation to provide protection for student-athletes and the institutions they attend. There is a real need to have access to information about the individuals who become involved with our student-athletes and to provide strong criminal, civil and administrative penalties along with the tools to ensure that law enforcement can adequately enforce the act.

In achieving this goal, the UAAA contains a number of important provisions. The UAAA requires an agent to provide important information, both professional and criminal in nature. This information will enable student-athletes and other interested parties to better evaluate the prospective agent. The UAAA also requires

that written notice be provided to institutions when a student-athlete signs an agency contract before his or her eligibility expires. In addition, the UAAA gives authority to the Secretary of State to issue subpoenas that would enable the state to obtain relevant material that ensures compliance with the act. Finally, the UAAA provides for criminal, civil and administrative penalties with enforcement at the state level.

However, none of the solutions listed above can effectively be addressed if agents fail to register with the state. This leads us to the second problem. Since 1981, at least 28 states have enacted statutes regulating athlete agents. Those statutes are vague and vary considerably from state to state. This lack of uniformity clearly has had an impact on the number of agents registering with the states. For example, because of the inconsistencies among current state statutes and the lack of provisions for reciprocal registration and reasonable fee structures, an agent intending to do business in a large number of states may be forced to comply with 28 different sets of registration requirements, must be aware of 28 different regulatory schemes and must pay 28 different initial registration fees.

The UAAA allows an agent's valid certificate of registration from one state to be honored in all other states that have adopted the act. The success of the reciprocal registration process is contingent on states establishing a reasonable fee schedule, including lower registration fees for reciprocal applications and renewals. Thus, more agents are likely to register due to the efficiency of this process, its practical cost-saving implications for the agent and the benefits of complying with a single set of regulations.

Institutions also will find specific protections within the act. The UAAA requires the agent and student-athlete to notify the institution within 72 hours of the signing of a contract, or before the student-athlete's next scheduled athletics event, whichever occurs first. If a prospective student-athlete has signed a contract, the agent must notify the institution where the agent has reasonable grounds to believe the prospect will enroll. Finally, the act provides institutions with a right of action against the agent or former student-athlete for any damages caused by a violation of this act.

While I am enthusiastic at the prospect of a uniform act that includes such important provisions, I am most pleased with the protection it affords our student-athletes. Some of the protections contained in the UAAA include prohibiting agents from giving false or misleading information or promises with the intent to induce a student-athlete into signing an agent contract. In addition, agents are prohibited from furnishing anything of value to a student-athlete before signing a contract. Further, an agent may not intentionally initiate contact with a student-athlete unless they are registered under the act. Also, for those student-athletes who do enter into a contract with an agent before their athletics eligibility expires, the act provides a student-athlete with the right to cancel the contract within 14 days. Finally, the contract must contain a notification to the student-athlete informing them that signing a contract may make the student-athlete ineligible for intercollegiate competition.

Now that we have the Uniform Athlete Agent Act completed, it is time to ensure that it is adopted in all 50 states. The NCAA has pledged its support and will begin this month by sending a briefing packet to every institution's chief executive officer. This packet will assist institutions in understanding and addressing the issues related to the UAAA. However, most important to securing swift passage of the act in every state is the need to ensure that the UAAA is introduced in each state legislature. I urge every member institution to become knowledgeable about this endeavor and to assist the NCAA and the NCCUSL in securing sponsorship of the UAAA in your state legislature. Please contact Bill Saum, NCAA director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities, with any relevant information relating to your efforts to adopt the UAAA. We must take full advantage of this opportunity to pass legislation that brings clarity to the regulation of athlete agents and provides vital protection for our student-athletes and our institutions.

Talbot D'Alemberte is the president of Florida State University.