As NIL deals, athlete transfers and looming revenue-sharing changes continue to reshape college athletics, Idaho lawmakers are asking Congress to step in.
Senate Joint Memorial 114, introduced by Sen. Ben Adams, urges Congress and Idaho’s congressional delegation to create a national framework governing issues like NIL compensation, the transfer portal and athlete revenue sharing.
Adams said the current landscape of college athletics has become increasingly driven by financial competition between programs.
“The biggest issue right now is that it’s a money race,” Adams said. “It’s whoever spends the most. You’re seeing programs that were once average suddenly become competitive because they’re able to outspend everyone in NIL.”
The memorial passed the Idaho Senate unanimously and now moves to the Idaho House. If approved, it would be sent to Congress as a formal request from the Idaho Legislature urging federal lawmakers to create consistent national standards for college athletics.
Adams said the lack of national regulation has created an uneven playing field between universities across the country.
“You can’t have Ohio State, Miami, Florida State, Penn State and Oregon running on one set of rules they can afford while everybody else is running on a different set of rules they can’t,” Adams said. “That’s not a healthy system for college sports.”
Adams also pointed out the rise of the transfer portal has made college athletics harder for fans to follow, noting players moving between several programs during their careers make it difficult for supporters to stay connected to a team.
On Friday, March 6, several Boise State officials testified in support of the memorial during committee hearings, saying federal action may be necessary to stabilize college athletics as NIL spending, transfer rules and conference realignment reshape the competitive landscape.
Interim president Jeremiah Shinn told lawmakers the financial model supporting college athletics is becoming increasingly unstable as resources are concentrated among the sport’s wealthiest programs.
“The financial model underlying college athletics is unstable,” Shinn said. “The math simply no longer works, and schools outside the power two conferences face a very short runway if we don’t find a way to stabilize the system.”
Boise State athletic director Jeremiah Dickey said the lack of consistent national standards has created uncertainty for schools trying to compete in the rapidly changing landscape of college athletics.
“Different colleges and different states are playing by different rules,” Dickey said. “When an industry is unwilling or unable to govern itself, sometimes we have to ask Congress to step in and help create a framework that brings consistency.”
The financial pressures shaping the highest levels of college football could eventually ripple throughout the entire college sports system, affecting programs well beyond the sport’s biggest stages.
Those concerns extend beyond football and basketball. Programs at various levels of competition have begun cutting sports, raising concerns that smaller or non-revenue programs could be especially vulnerable if financial disparities continue to grow.
Boise State football coach Spencer Danielson testified in support of the memorial, warning lawmakers that the current landscape risks shifting college athletics toward a system driven primarily by money rather than development.
“A lot of places focus on the transaction — pay for a player, bring them in and move on,” Danielson said. “We don’t want to be a transactional institution. We want to develop young people and help transform their lives.”
Danielson said Boise State’s philosophy centers on building relationships with players and helping them grow both on and off the field, a model he believes could become harder to maintain if college sports continue moving toward a system dominated by short-term financial incentives.
His comments reflect a broader concern shared by many college coaches: that rapid changes brought by NIL deals and the transfer portal could fundamentally reshape how programs build teams. Instead of developing athletes over several seasons, programs may increasingly rely on quick roster turnover driven by financial offers and transfer opportunities.
Adams said one possible solution could involve financial guardrails similar to those used in professional sports.
“A salary cap would be great — an NIL cap,” Adams said. “Here’s the ceiling. Everybody can compete under the same structure instead of just whoever can spend the most.”
If approved by the Idaho House, the memorial would be sent to Idaho’s congressional delegation as a formal request urging federal lawmakers to consider nationwide standards. The goal is not to eliminate opportunities for athletes, but to ensure programs across the country are competing under the same rules as college athletics continues to evolve.
