October 26, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
In the latest salvo in what appears to be a growing interest on Capitol Hill in an investigation of college athletics, a congressman has asked the National Collegiate Athletic Association to justify the tax-exempt status of big-time sports programs.
That request came in a letter to the association’s president, Myles Brand, from Rep. Bill Thomas, a California Republican and chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.
“Most of the activities undertaken by educational organizations clearly further their exempt status,” Mr. Thomas wrote. “The exempt purpose of intercollegiate athletics, however, is less apparent, particularly in the context of major college football and men’s basketball programs.”
Erik Christianson, a spokesman for the NCAA, said the association disagrees with Mr. Thomas’s view.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, the Iowa Republican who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has asked the NCAA to send him a copy of its responses to Mr. Thomas’s questions. Whether Congress will pursue hearings on college sports is unclear. It has been conducting reviews of nonprofit organizations since 2004, and has passed several laws curbing nonprofit tax abuses.
Paul Fain is a staff reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
