Following is a report of federal activities since February 1 affecting the NCAA membership. This report was prepared by the NCAA federal relations office. Copies of all documents, bills and correspondence in this report are available from the federal relations office, One Dupont Circle, N.W., Suite 310, Washington, D.C. 20036; telephone 202/293-3050.

Gender-equity issues

Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA).

Once the data are received by the Department of Education, the agency is charged with providing a report to Congress on aggregate gender trends in intercollegiate athletics based on the reports submitted by individual institutions and to make institutional specific reports available to the public through the Internet. However, technical problems have delayed the online site development. The department now expects that the 2000 data will be available on its Web site by September 2001. Collection of 2001 data will commence around the same time.

Supreme Court determines Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association is "state actor."

General Accounting Office Releases Two Reports on Title IX.

Highlights of the report's findings include:

* Women's participation in intercollegiate sports at four-year colleges and universities has increased while men's participation has dropped slightly, although men still participate at a higher rate than women.

* From Title IX's enactment to the 1997-98 school year, the number of women in intercollegiate sports grew from an estimated 30,000 (1.7 percent of full-time enrolled undergraduate women) to 157,000 (5.5 percent of full-time enrolled undergraduate women).

* Over the same time period, the number of men participating fell from about 248,000 (10.4 percent of full-time undergraduate men) to about 234,000 (9.5 percent of full-time undergraduate men).

* During the 1998-99 school year, NCAA member institutions spent more per male student-athlete than female student-athlete in the areas of recruiting, coaches' salaries, and operations. However, institutions spent more on athletics scholarships for women than for men. Men continue to hold the majority of athletics director positions in intercollegiate athletics.

* Representatives from the higher education community agree that Title IX has contributed to increased opportunities and participation for women in the classroom and on the playing field.

In addition to the Mink report, the GAO released a report March 8 mandated by the Higher Education Act amendments of 1998 on sports team discontinuation (GAO-01-297). The study was adopted as an alternative to legislation that would have required colleges and universities to report to the federal government, up to four years in advance, any teams that would be discontinued or reduced in squad size.

Last May, the GAO sent a 62-question survey to all NCAA and NAIA institutions asking questions about sports-team additions and discontinuations at those institutions over the last eight years. GAO received responses from 1,191 institutions. The data revealed that 963 respondents had added at least one team, while 307 respondent institutions had discontinued at least one team. Of those institutions that added a team, 72 percent reported doing so without discontinuing any programs. During the time period, 1,919 teams were added for women and 702 were added for men, 386 men's teams were discontinued, and 150 women's teams were discontinued.

Other highlights of the report are included in the story on page 1 of this issue of The NCAA News.

Wellstone considers legislation to support Olympic sports for men and women and establish criteria for sports-team discontinuation.

In response to the March 8 GAO study, Sen. Paul Wellstone, D, Minnesota, has discussed with the NCAA federal relations office proposed legislation to help preserve men's and women's Olympic sports at the collegiate and pre-collegiate levels. The proposal has four components:

* Provides grants to the USOC to promote Olympic sport involvement among youth, particularly in underserved communities.

* Requires the U.S. Department of Education to provide access to the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act data over the Internet, including institutions' revenues and expenses data for the previous five years.

University of Kansas to discontinue men's swimming and tennis.

Swarthmore drops football and wrestling.

The board of managers of Swarthmore College voted to dissolve the school's football and wrestling programs. College officials said the move followed a report by the school's athletics review committee that recommended that the number of Swarthmore student-athletes not exceed 15 percent of enrollment, which is approximately 1,400.

UCLA to reinstate women's rowing as a varsity sport.

Higher education issues

Fair labor practices in the manufacturing of licensed apparel.

In January, the Workers Rights Consortium (the student-backed organization monitoring labor practices of manufacturers of collegiate apparel) claimed that a Mexico-based factory that produced clothing for at least 11 American colleges and universities had engaged in "severe ongoing violations" of fair labor practices that the manufacturing plant had agreed to observe. The facility also manufactures merchandise for Nike and Reebok. The Fair Labor Association (the industry- backed organization monitoring labor practices of manufacturers) announced that the management of the Mexican facility had violated the FLA code of conduct and called on the Mexican government to enforce existing laws that governed union activity. Both groups continue to examine factory conditions to determine the extent of human rights violations. Meanwhile, students across the country protested Nike's involvement with the facility.

Bush administration proposes Pell Grant increases for first-year students.

Former and current UCLA football players turn to labor union for advice.

The United Steel Workers of America is advising the Collegiate Athletes Coalition, a group of current and former student-athletes at the University of California, Los Angeles. The group has organized to advocate for benefits such as stipends for student-athletes, better health insurance and job training. The students are asking for year-round health insurance for athletes; an increase in the life insurance coverage student-athletes receive from the NCAA; an increased athletics grant to cover more living expenses on campus; more flexibility in the jobs student-athletes can hold and amount they can earn; and the creation of an employment program for graduating athletes.

Gambling issues

Internet gambling update -- new House bill introduced -- Senate and House leaders still undecided on strategy to enact federal prohibition legislation.

On February 12, 2001, Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, introduced H.R. 556, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act. The legislation was identical to the bill approved by the House Banking and Financial Service Committee at the end of the 106th Congress. H.R. 556 takes a different approach than the more publicized bills supported last year by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia (H.R. 3125) and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona (S. 692 -- adopted unanimously by the full Senate).

Leach's legislation prohibits any person engaged in a gambling business from knowingly accepting any financial instrument in connection with the participation of another person in Internet gambling. This approach effectively prohibits the use of credit cards, electronic fund transfers and other methods of payments for the purpose of Internet gambling. Last year, as chairman of the House Banking and Financial Services Committee, Leach introduced a similar bill with little fanfare. While the NCAA testified at a committee hearing, most of the legislative efforts were directed at Goodlatte's bill, H.R. 3125, which was further along in the legislative process.

Many experts in the Internet gambling industry concede that H.R. 556 may be the most effective legislation proposed to date. The focus on prohibiting the use of payment options aims to hit the industry in the area where it will have the most immediate impact.

Kyl and Goodlatte are still reviewing options for the introduction of new Internet gambling legislation. The growing lobbying effort against prohibition legislation by several well-financed groups presents a significant challenge for any bill's chances of success. The NCAA and other supporters of the legislative effort to ban Internet gambling in the United States will continue to monitor congressional efforts. In the meantime, the NCAA has begun to plan meetings with state and federal law enforcement officials to explore new ways to work together to combat Internet sports gambling.

Nevada Gaming Commission adopts new rules to allow gambling on Nevada teams.

On January 25, The Nevada Gaming Commission adopted new regulations to alter policies regarding sports gambling in that state. The new regulations:

* Eliminate all gambling on high-school and Olympic sporting events.

* Allow gambling on Nevada's college sports teams (previously not allowed).

* Create a "black book" of individuals who would be barred from betting on college sporting events.

* Prohibit betting by student-athletes and coaches on games in which they are participants.

Nevada delegation introduces National Collegiate and Amateur Athletic Protections Act of 2001.

The legislation adopts several of the NCAA's earlier proposals to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission but also includes several additional provisions that appear targeted at the higher education community. The bill would:

* Create a task force at the U.S. Department of Justice to provide greater enforcement of existing laws that prohibit gambling on college sports.

* Increase penalties for violating existing illegal gambling statutes related to gambling on collegiate sports.

* Study illegal gambling by minors. However, it does not examine illegal gambling by adults or the role of large illegal gambling rings outside of Nevada (presumably run by adults) identified by the FBI in money-laundering schemes with a link to the Nevada casinos.

* Establish a panel to study illegal gambling on college campuses and to make recommendations on what college and university officials should do to address the problems. The legislation assumes that the country's illegal gambling industry is centered on college campuses, not the bars and other off-campus locations that are frequented by individuals.

* Require colleges and universities to designate at least one full-time senior officer to oversee enforcement of a comprehensive campus-based program to reduce illegal gambling; amend their campus crime and security report to include instances of gambling on campus, including gambling by students and personnel over the Internet; discontinue any athletics aid to a student who violates the campus or NCAA gambling rules. If the campus fails to comply, its eligibility to receive federal funding will be discontinued.

Public Citizen releases report critical of House and Senate leadership's role in blocking sports-gambling legislation last year.

"The Nevada casino industry stands alone against the ban. And the industry has been playing its trump card -- the soft-money loophole in federal campaign law," the 16-page report said. Soft money refers to the unlimited contributions that corporations, unions and wealthy individuals can make to political parties that are then funneled to candidates running for federal office.

The report also concluded that:

* Soft-money contributions from the Nevada casino industry to Republican and Democratic party campaign committees for the 2000 election totaled $3.9 million, more than twice the amount for the 1996 election.

* The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee received eight times as much money from Nevada casino interests in 2000 than in 1996. During the same time, the National Republican Congressional Committee collected almost four times as much money from Nevada casinos.

* Mirage Resorts Inc. led Nevada's soft-money donors with contributions of $1.15 million in 1999 and 2000. That amount more than doubled the contributions of the second leading donor, International Game Technology, which gave $433,850.

* Public Citizen said its report was based on extensive interviews with members of Congress, their staffs, lobbyists and other knowledgeable insiders, as well as soft-money reports.

Miscellaneous

Consumer Product Safety Commission considers review of bat standards.

Model athlete-agent legislation already introduced in 20 states.

After more than three years of work, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) adopted the final version of the Uniform Athlete Agents Act (UAAA) in August 2000. The NCAA was an active participant throughout the drafting process of the UAAA, and the NCAA Executive Committee endorsed the final version of the Act in November 2000. In January 2001, the NCAA and NCCUSL began working cooperatively with state legislatures and NCAA member institutions in an effort to adopt the act in all 50 states.

The UAAA proposes a uniform approach to state regulation of athlete agents while providing protection and important consumer information for student-athletes and educational institutions. Presently, there are 28 different state laws regulating athlete agents. A number of state statutes are poorly drafted, and many state requirements are largely ignored by agents. One of the primary purposes of the UAAA is to ensure that athlete agents register with the states where they conduct business. This is achieved through a reciprocal registration process that is designed to eliminate some of the registration burdens imposed on athlete agents and result in a greater number of registrants in each state.

As of March 2001, the UAAA has been introduced in 20 states (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia). Efforts also are currently under way in Florida, Texas and Wisconsin to introduce the UAAA in the upcoming weeks. Utah is the first state to adopt the Act.

The NCAA is asking all its member institutions to urge their respective state legislatures to introduce and adopt the Act. Information about the UAAA, including sample letters of support, are available online (www.ncaa.org, click on NCAA Online home page link, click on Enforcement and Reinstatement link, click on Agents and Amateurism link and click on Uniform Athlete Agents Act link).