Student Athlete Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4177 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4177 To establish rules regarding eligibility of student athletes for intercollegiate athletics, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 24, 2026 Mr. Tuberville introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To establish rules regarding eligibility of student athletes for intercollegiate athletics, and for other purposes. 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 ``Student Athlete Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. In this Act: (1) Athletic department.--The term ``athletic department'' means a department at an institution of higher education that sponsors or conducts 1 or more varsity intercollegiate athletics programs in which student athletes enrolled at the institution of higher education compete in athletic contests against student athletes enrolled at another institution of higher education. (2) Conference.--The term ``conference'' means an organization that-- (A) has as members 2 or more institutions of higher education; (B) arranges or conducts season-long intercollegiate athletic events to determine, among its members, a champion in a particular intercollegiate sport; and (C) sets rules for varsity intercollegiate sports competition among its members. (3) Grant-in-aid.--The term ``grant-in-aid'' means-- (A) tuition, room, board, books, fees, and personal expenses paid or provided by an institution of higher education up to the full cost of attendance; (B) Federal Pell Grants and other State and Federal grants unrelated to, and not awarded