Charlie Baker
- Role(s) as quoted
- Person type
- NCAA leaders
- Entries
- 5 (Dec 5, 2023 to Oct 14, 2026)
- Topics
- Governance & legislation (4) Structure: super league & divisions (2) Pay, NIL & revenue sharing (2) Transfer portal (2) Eligibility (2)
In the Ideas index
All entries (oldest first)
No verbatim quote recorded for this entry; summary of the source only.
In a letter to Division I schools, Baker proposed a new top tier of Division I in which the richest schools would pay at least half their athletes at least $30,000 a year through a trust fund. He also proposed letting all D-I schools sign NIL deals directly with athletes.
No verbatim quote recorded for this entry; summary of the source only.
In an open letter to athletes about his 'Project D1' proposal, Baker said the new subdivision could write its own rules on scholarships, roster limits, recruiting, transfers and NIL, and invited athlete feedback.
“The money piece, in particular, is—got to be part of the conversation, and that's got to involve the student athletes.”
Baker said the SCORE Act addresses many problems but the hard part is cost and revenue. He added that any compensation structure must involve athletes themselves in the conversation.
“When I was governor, I signed hundreds of bills. I never signed a bill that was perfect. There's always stuff in there you don't like, OK? That's called democracy. I think this thing is much better for college sports than not.”
At Puck's In the Arena conference, Baker predicted the Protect College Sports Act still has a real chance in the House after the midterms. He named agent regulation, age-based eligibility, transfer limits and revenue-sharing rules as its most important parts.
“Because if you want to have a national championship, there's a whole bunch of things where you need to have a national rule.”
At the Women Leaders in Sports convention in Chicago, said the Protect College Sports Act would 'absolutely' make college sports more sustainable, and that conferences can make some of their own rules but national championships need national eligibility rules.
