Rep. Michael Baumgartner Says It’s Time for Government Oversight in College Football: OutKick Hot Mic
Will CFB need to go backward, before it goes forward? OutKick Hot Mic discusses with Rep. Michael Baumgartner.
This week on OutKick Hot Mic with Hutton & Withrow, U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-Washington) joined the show to dive into whether federal intervention will play a role in the future of college football.
The conversation comes after reports that during LSU’s search for a new coach following Brian Kelly’s brutal firing, state governor Jeff Landry suggested President Donald Trump should be involved in the search process.
Baumgartner said college athletics are already deeply tied to public funding and should be treated as such.
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"College sports is not the private market. It’s a highly subsidized public good," Baum said. "There are billions and billions of dollars in taxpayer funds that go into campuses and subsidized sports."
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Why Should The Government Get Involved In CFB | Hot Mic w/ Hutton and Withrow.mp4
Rep. Baumgartner added that government involvement in college sports isn’t new, pointing to the early 1900s when the sport faced elimination because of safety concerns.
"Over a hundred years ago, college football was going to be completely eliminated because it was too dangerous," Baumgartner said.
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"It was President Teddy Roosevelt working with Congress who set up a regulatory structure to save college sports. So there’s precedent for this."
Baumgartner compared the current landscape to professional sports, where Congress authorizes salary caps to promote fairness.
"There are salary caps in pro sports, and it is Congress that allows there to be salary caps," he added.
"The reason you have them is to create competitive balance. Right now, college sports has no salary caps, unfettered free agency, and weak leadership when it comes to making fiscally responsible decisions."
He said the NCAA has failed to act as a proper governing body and needs to be replaced.
UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 21: Rep.-elect Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., reacts after drawing the number two chip during the New Member Orientation Room Lottery for office space at the Capitol on Thursday, November 21, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"It screams out for an entirely new regulatory body," Baumgartner said. "The NCAA is toothless. It needs to be replaced by something that can actually govern for the good of the sport."
Baumgartner also noted that while college athletics are bringing in record revenue, athletes' opportunities are shrinking.
"There’s more money in college sports than ever before, yet there are fewer opportunities for America’s high school sons and daughters to compete.
"Fans don’t care whether a coach makes $250,000 or $2.5 million. They just want to win."
Baumgartner said Congress should step in to restore accountability.
"Working with President Trump in a bipartisan fashion, there’s an opportunity to really fix these problems," he said. "Because it is a public good, elected officials should step in."
Baumgartner’s message was clear: if universities and the NCAA won’t fix the system, Washington should.
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