Mitch Barnhart pushes fan support for SCORE Act amid vote delay

Stability is not yet coming to college sports the way the NCAA, power conferences and the University of Kentucky are pushing for through the SCORE Act. Next week’s scheduled vote in Congress to pass the bill has been delayed indefinitely — and Mitch Barnhart wants Big Blue Nation to understand the positives and voice support for legislation that will “play a critical role in protecting the future of college sports” so it’s passed when the time comes back around for a vote.

The UK AD shared his thoughts in a letter to the fanbase, saying that if passed, the SCORE Act will preserve NIL opportunities for student-athletes, guarantee scholarships, extend medical coverage and protect women’s sports and Olympic sports, among other benefits.

The letter can be read in its entirety below.

Dear fans,

College athletics is undergoing major transformation, with new models of revenue sharing and name, image and likeness (NIL) regulation. With it has come confusion and instability as states have enacted varying and inconsistent laws around college sports designed for their competitive advantage.

Only Congress can enact the uniform national standards necessary to protect the future of college sports, preserve national competition and ensure opportunities for athletes.

The bipartisan Student Compensation and Opportunity Through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act was recently introduced in Congress. The SCORE Act tackles the most pressing issues related to NIL and provides enhanced support to help college athletes thrive both during and after their days as college athletes.

The SCORE Act, which could be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives as soon as September, will:

Establish a national standard for revenue sharing with college athletes while preserving their name, image and likeness opportunities;
Guarantee scholarships, extended medical coverage, mental health resources and career guidance to college athletes;
Offer degree completion opportunities for athletes even after their playing eligibility is complete;
Protect Women’s Sports and Olympic sports by classifying college athletes as students, not employees

To support the SCORE Act, please contact your local member of Congress and ask them to vote YES on this bill.

Go to PassTheScoreAct.com to tell your elected representatives to support the future of college sports.

Now is the time for action. You can play a critical role in protecting the future of college sports.

Please tell Congress: Pass the SCORE Act now.

Thank you,

Mitch Barnhart

If passed, the SCORE Act would codify the House settlement and require student-athletes to disclose NIL deals, preempt state NIL laws, prohibit athletes from being deemed employees and grant the NCAA power to enforce and create policy around NIL deals, transfer rules, eligibility standards, playing rules and membership criteria, according to On3 contributor Ross Dellenger. The bill would also require schools to provide healthcare for athletes within three years of their eligibility ending and regulate agents with 5 percent caps.

Biggest of all, the NCAA would receive antitrust protection.

There is pushback, however, from non-power conferences arguing the SCORE Act will grant the SEC, Big Ten, Big Ten and ACC too much power and potentially adjust postseason inclusion and revenue distribution. Texas billionaire businessman Cody Campbell argues the bill “will destroy women’s and Olympic sports” and permanently “relegate smaller schools to irrelevance.”

Americans are overwhelmingly aligned with the objectives and directives of President Trump’s Executive order on College Sports: Preserve Women’s Sports, Preserve Olympic Sports, and Protect smaller and lower profile schools and the opportunities they provide to hundreds of…

— Cody Campbell (@CodyC64) September 8, 2025

The SEC ran TV advertisements last week pushing for SCORE Act support while the NCAA went out of its way to clear up any misconceptions about the bill in hopes of getting it passed.

The University of Kentucky needs the SCORE Act to pass following its new long-term partnership with JMI, which will now help athletes secure third-party NIL deals in addition to the revenue-sharing payments made by the school — moving the collective in-house to protect the program’s brand. In short, to use the school’s logos, facilities and intellectual property, athletes must work directly with the BBNIL Suite and JMI.

“It gives us an opportunity so that our partners are somewhat protected,” Barnhart said in August. “The intellectual property, institutional property; it’s really important that if people want to use our marks, use our facilities for part of their endorsement property, that’s part of the deal. You come to the University of Kentucky and you’re part of our family and you get to use our things, but also that’s part of the relationship. There’s a responsibility and a right that comes with that.”

For now, that’s been delayed — but college sports’ loudest and most powerful voices are pushing.