Dear fellow Commodores,
In this time of profound change in college athletics, I'm writing to ask you to join us in urging Congress to address the untenable landscape related to name, image and likeness and other issues critical to our mission.
We love college athletics and should always say this with pride. We celebrate the camaraderie and thrill of competition and victory. We cherish the community strengthened by our shared experience as fans. We value the collaborative educational model that brings academics and athletics together to make each stronger.
By staying true to our most cherished values, we can achieve reform before irreversible damage is done. To this end, we have joined institutions from across the SEC and more than two dozen conferences to form the Coalition for the Future of College Athletics.
Our goal in supporting the mission of this national coalition is twofold: 1) to ensure the long-term viability of college athletics and 2) to position Vanderbilt Athletics, and our student-athletes, for success now and in the future. To do so we must:
- Serve student-athletes by ensuring a level playing field. We fully support our student-athletes in their ability to monetize their name, image and likeness while they compete and earn their degrees. But the current environment is an unsustainable model of “pay-for-play” enabled by inconsistent state laws. We believe the best interests of student-athletes should be reflected in clearly articulated national legislation.
- Protect equitable access and opportunity. We believe in the transformative benefits of college athletics and a broad-based portfolio of sports. It’s why we reintroduced volleyball as our 17th varsity sport. But in a pay-for-play model, finite resources across college athletics could be reallocated to the detriment of many student-athletes. Instead of a transformational, life-changing educational experience rippling across generations, we risk becoming just another transactional business.
We need your help. You can start by urging Congress to act on federal legislation. You can advocate for student-athletes by urging your friends to do the same. You can further elevate the coalition by following and engaging on social media.
To learn more about the urgency of acting now, go to www.C4FCA.com. It’s going to take all of us who love college athletics to save it.
Thank you for your support,
Candice Storey Lee
Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs and Athletic Director
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