Assembly committee hears SB293 to let Nevada universities manage NIL payments and protect athletes

Senators and university officials told the Assembly Committee on Education that Senate Bill 293 would let Nevada's public higher-education institutions play a formal role in managing student-athlete name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation, including potential revenue-sharing arrangements tied to a pending national settlement.

"This bill is really important to our ability to stay competitive nationally when it comes to name, image, and likeness," Stephanie Rempe, athletic director at the University of Nevada, told the committee. Rempe and UNLV representatives said a roughly $2,800,000,000 class-action settlement pending in federal court is expected to open the door to institutional revenue-sharing arrangements for student athletes; SB293 would allow institutions to participate without being penalized under prior rules.

Supporters said the bill would also give universities more capacity to advise and protect student athletes during NIL negotiations. Eric Nepomaceno, senior deputy athletics director and chief operating officer for UNLV athletics, said the measure is intended to "add certain protections to our student athletes by broadening our involvement and guidance through that process."

Committee members pressed witnesses on funding and oversight. Witnesses and sponsor testimony repeatedly stated that the intent was not to use public dollars for athlete compensation. Nepomaceno said the universities expect NIL funding to come from athletic philanthropic efforts, not state general funds. Rempe added that scholarship awards would remain intact and that proposed revenue sharing would be separate from financial aid.

The transcript shows senators and athletics officials also debated bill language added in the Senate. Committee counsel and witnesses said language intended to limit how university foundations handle gifts was proposed and later considered for removal; the committee heard that the sponsors planned to remove the subsection that explicitly addressed financial restrictions while keeping a provision exempting certain NIL-related records from public-records requests. Asher Killian, committee counsel, explained that donor contractual protections would exist under contract law even if the bill's subsection were removed.

Coaches and athletic staff testified in strong support, describing operational concerns under the current "wild west" NIL environment. Jeff Choate, University of Nevada head football coach, said lack of clarity and outside deals "can create problems within your locker room" and argued institutional involvement would provide needed guardrails. Choate and UNLV representatives also urged confidentiality for individual athlete deals, arguing that public disclosure of private contracts could expose student athletes to social and safety risks.

Members also asked about practical questions: whether institutions would act as agents or transactional partners, tax implications for compensated athletes, and whether roster or scholarship rules would change under settlement terms. Witnesses described settlement-driven roster and scholarship changes being negotiated nationally; they said some settlement terms would create new roster caps while allowing scholarship flexibility.

No formal committee vote or motion was recorded in the hearing transcript. The committee scheduled public testimony in both Las Vegas and Carson City and took several public-support witnesses for the bill before closing the hearing.