The AAU and NCAA’s Battle for Control of Amateur Athletics
THE BOX SCORE
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) fought a fifty-year battle to control amateur athletics, which repeatedly threatened the United States’ participation in the Olympic Games.
The U.S. government’s unwillingness to name an official Olympic governing body allowed this power struggle and led to underperforming teams.
The issue was finally resolved in 1978 with the passage of the Amateur Sports Act, which gave the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee authority over the U.S. Olympic team.
This case is an example of how governmental intervention is sometimes needed to resolve problems in the sporting world.
THE COMPLETE GAME
One of the thorniest problems in the history of American sports concerned which organization governed amateur athletics: the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), or the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). The conflict spanned over 50 years and repeatedly threatened the United States’ participation in the Olympic Games. The U.S. government finally resolved the issue in 1978 with the passage of the Amateur Sports Act, which said the USOPC would govern Olympic sports, left collegiate athletics up to the NCAA, and severely weakened the AAU.
The battle for control over amateur athletics illustrates several lessons about the intersection of politics and sports in the United States.
First, the conflict is uniquely American. Unlike other countries, the United States treats sports mainly as a private affair. Because of this hands-off philosophy, problems tend to fester in a way they don’t in other countries.
Second, the federal government usually finds itself in a hornet’s nest when it wades into problems in the sporting world. Unable or unwilling to exercise real power, Washington often tries to play peacemaker in conflicts when the antagonists are hell-bent on war. Indeed, the battle over amateur athletics vexed some of the most powerful men in U.S. politics, including Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, General Douglas MacArthur, labor attorney Theodore Kheel, and every president from Kennedy to Carter.
Third, it usually takes the federal government a long time to solve problems in the sporting world. The AAU vs. NCAA feud started in 1921; it ended in 1978.
Finally, the case reflects my general thesis that federal government intervention in sports usually makes things better, not worse. I know this is not a popular opinion. Most people think sports are pure, politics are corrupt, and life is good if never the twain shall meet. But sports are not always pure, politics not always corrupt, and, sometimes, governmental intervention is the only thing that can save sports from themselves. As this case shows, the problem is not that the government gets involved, but, rather, its involvement comes too late.
[Note: I draw much of the following from Howard Chudacoff’s excellent article, “AAU v. NCAA: The Bitter Feud that Altered the Structure of American Amateur Sports.” I recommend his work to those wanting more on this fascinating but complicated case.]
The Road Map
This is a complicated story, so I’ll try to simplify it as best I can. Here’s a road map.
First, I’ll introduce the central players before taking a slight detour to show how Teddy Roosevelt saved college football and established the NCAA. Next, we’ll examine the political context that made the battle over amateur athletics so intractable. Then, we get to the root of the problem: the AAU/NCAA struggle for control over amateur athletics resulting in underperforming U.S. Olympic teams. The obvious solution would have been for the U.S. government to decide the matter, but it took 50 years for it to do so. Finally, I provide a detailed timeline of the sorted affair.
The Players
The AAU is the oldest of the three organizations. Established in 1888, the AAU controlled non-educational amateur athletics (e.g., any sporting event not sanctioned by a high school or college) and, until the late 1970s, played the lead role in selecting the U.S. Olympic team. Although the AAU still runs several developmental programs and championship events, it is a shell of its former self.
What we now call the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) was formed shortly before the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. In 1950, Congress chartered it as a non-profit corporation able to solicit tax-deductible contributions. The main goal of the USOPC has always been to raise money for U.S. Olympic athletes; the U.S. is one of the few countries that does not provide government money to its Olympic teams. Only since 1978 has the organization been in charge of all things Olympic.
The NCAA was formed in 1906 to govern college athletics (see the Side Note below for the story of how Teddy Roosevelt saved college football and helped to found the NCAA). Its membership has grown dramatically, from 57 member institutions in 1910 to 1,088 in 2024. The NCAA held its first national championship in track in 1921, followed by basketball in 1939. Today, it crowns national champions in 90 different sports. Despite recent cracks in its armor, the NCAA is still the 800lb gorilla that controls collegiate sports.
Side Note: Teddy Roosevelt, College Football, and the NCAA
The founding of the NCAA is one of the best examples of a president influencing sports. The following briefly considers that case; learn more by reading David Dayen’s Politico article “How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football” or John J. Miller’s Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football.
If you think modern college football is dangerous, you should have seen it back in the day. Between 1869 and 1905, college football looked more like a well-organized riot than a sport, with players punching, kicking, and stomping their opponents. There were no agreed-upon rules—the home team made up their own—and almost no regard for player safety. Congressman Charles Landis watched a game that year, and it left quite an impression:
“There was not a boy in the game who did not run the risk of receiving an injury that would send him through life a hopeless cripple … dog fighting, cock fighting and bull fighting are Sabbath school games in comparison with modern football.”
Landis was not alone. Newspaper editorials railed against the game. Harvard President Charles William Eliot hated football, saying it was the “worse preparation for the real struggles and contests of life can hardly be imagined.” The bloody 1905 season, which saw 19 players die on the gridiron, seemed like the last straw. Public opinion turned against the game, and Columbia, Duke, Northwestern, Cal, and Stanford canceled their upcoming season.
November 11, 1905. Stanford 12, Cal 5.
The president at that time, Teddy Roosevelt, was arguably the greatest sportsman to sit in the Oval Office. He was also a college football fan. Roosevelt liked the roughness of football and thought the game taught valuable life lessons, “In doing your work in the great world, it is a safe plan to follow a rule I once heard on the football field: Don’t flinch, don’t fall; hit the line hard.” But even for the Rough Riding Roosevelt, enough was enough.
On October 9, 1905, Roosevelt convened a meeting of coaches and university presidents at the White House. Miller argues that Roosevelt didn’t wield a big stick but instead used a light touch to convince decision-makers to establish rules to make the game safer. A few months later, university presidents formed the IAAUS, the predecessor to the NCAA, and set rules that made the game safer, including establishing a neutral zone at the line of scrimmage, banning the flying wedge, increasing the first down yardage from 5 to 10 yards, and introducing the forward pass.
Roosevelt’s role in forming the NCAA and saving college football reflects both the power and weakness of the President of the United States. In his seminal work on the presidency, Richard Neustadt argued the true power of the president is the power to persuade. Presidents usually can’t order people to do things, but the skillful ones can use their office to convince others to do what they want. That seems to be the case here. Roosevelt called football coaches and presidents to a meeting at the White House; they all showed up (except for Yale football coach Walter Camp); TR asked them to do something, and they did it. That is power.
Nevertheless, the fact that Roosevelt had to persuade rather than order shows the weakness of the presidency. As I discuss in Five Lessons on the Modern Presidency, American presidents have limited constitutional powers. In this case, TR had no formal power to change the rules of football or establish the NCAA. He could not issue an executive order because there were almost no federal laws concerning higher education at that time, and all executive orders must be based upon existing statutes. If power is issuing orders and having people follow them, then the American presidency is decidedly weak.
The Context
In his excellent history of this case, historian Howard Chudacoff argues that we can’t understand the AAU/NCAA/USOPC conflict without first understanding the broader political and cultural context, including (1) amateurism in sports, (2) American exceptionalism, (3) the growth in college enrollment, (4) television contracts for college sports, and (5) the Cold War.
Arguably the greatest American athlete of all time, Jim Thorpe.
Amateurism. Until recently, the United States took the notion of amateur athletics very seriously. If athletes accepted money, even for playing a different sport, they were ineligible for amateur competition. Jim Thorpe, arguably the greatest American athlete of all time, had his two 1912 Olympic gold medals taken away because he played semi-pro baseball. Reggie Bush had to return his Heisman Trophy for accepting over $200,000 from an agent. And in the 1980s, the NCAA gave SMU football the death penalty because boosters were handing out sacks of cash to the players.
Today, the notion of amateur athletics is dead.
American Exceptionalism. The American exceptionalism argument has two strands: (1) America is better than any other country, and (2) America is different than other countries, setting aside whether those differences are good, bad, or indifferent. Here, I focus on the second version.
The United States is unique in many respects, including how little its government does. Americans have always preferred limited government and sports are one manifestation of this political culture. The U.S. is one of the few countries without a cabinet-level Ministry of Sports, and the federal government spends almost nothing on athletics. Moreover, the prevailing ethos is that the government should stay out of the ballgame. Because the U.S. government usually sits on the sidelines, there is often nothing to break up fights in the sporting world.
Growth in college enrollment. The number of Americans attending college exploded after World War II thanks to the passage of the GI Bill of 1944, the baby boom, and expanding views of who could attend college. More college students meant more student-athletes; more student-athletes meant the growing power of the NCAA.
Television contracts. The popularity of college football and a rapid increase in television ownership produced massive revenues for the NCAA. More money for the NCAA meant more power vis-à-vis the AAU.
The Cold War. The Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries initially refused to participate in the Olympic Games because they thought sports were too bougie. By the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games, however, the communists had changed their tune and began devoting a ton of resources to beat the imperialist American pigs. Of course, the U.S.A. would never stand for some pinko commie collecting a gold medal while the Soviet hammer and sickle flew in the background. Thus, the sports arms race was born. In the words of George Orwell, international sport has become “war minus the shooting.”
The Problem
I provide a detailed timeline of the AAU/NCAA/USOPC battle below, but here is the crux of the problem.
The AAU/NCAA battle took place on three interrelated fronts.
1. Sanctioning of athletic contests. Unless we’re talking about pick-up games at the YMCA, some organization must “sanction” an athletic competition and set the rules, determine who competes, secure the venue, hire referees, and do the million other things needed to put on a sporting event.
The NCAA and the AAU theoretically had their own sanctioning lane: The NCAA controlled collegiate athletics, leaving all other amateur competitions to the AAU. In practice, the line was never so clear. Most of America’s best amateurs were collegians. So, who sanctions events where college athletes compete against non-collegiate amateurs? Well, the NCAA and the AAU both claimed they did. Or, what happened when an AAU or NCAA athlete competed in a non-sanctioned event? That’s when the real fireworks began.
2. Suspending athletes. In their turf war over amateur athletics, the AAU and the NCAA repeatedly suspended or threatened to suspend athletes who competed in “non-sanctioned” events (i.e., events they did not put on or attach their name to). These threats were especially problematic for the U.S. participation in the Olympic Games.
Initially, the AAU enjoyed almost complete control over the U.S. Olympic team. By the 1930s, the NCAA had gained a voice inside the USOPC, but it was never loud enough for their liking. The AAU and the NCAA then resorted to hardball tactics to gain power, threatening to suspend athletes if they competed in the other organization’s events. As we will see in the timeline below, both organizations were willing to jeopardize the Olympic team to protect their turf.
Charley Paddock winning the 100m gold in Antwerp (1920) with his trademark leap at the finish line.
One notable example involved Charley Paddock, a USC sprinter, the 100m gold medalist at the 1920 Antwerp Games, and then “the fastest man alive.” In 1922, Paddock competed in a meet in France sanctioned by the NCAA but not the AAU. In a fit of pique, the AAU threatened to leave Paddock off the 1924 Olympic team. The AAU finally relented, and Paddock won silver in the 200m. Unfortunately, cases like Paddock’s were a recurring theme for over 50 years.
3. Who governs the U.S. Olympic team?
It’s complicated.
We can think of the Olympic governing bodies as a pyramid with several layers.
At the top is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which runs the Olympic Games, sets the rules, and recognizes other governing bodies. For our purposes, the IOC’s power of recognition is key: the IOC must officially recognize a lower governing body for it to act as the legitimate voice for their sport or country.
Next comes international governing bodies for individual sports. For example, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) governs international soccer, the World Athletics (formerly the International Association of Athletics Federation) governs international track and field, and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) governs international basketball.
On the next rung down are the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), which set policies for each country’s Olympic efforts. As we will see, this is where our story gets really heated.
Finally, national governing bodies (NGBs) set standards for each sport within each nation. For instance, USA Track & Field holds trials to determine who goes to the Olympics, USA Basketball names players to the Olympic basketball team, USA Swimming sets the aquatics roster, and so on.
Now, back to the U.S. National Olympic Committee. From 1894 until 1978, the U.S. federal government refused to name an official NOC. This non-policy reflects the uniquely American view that sports—even Olympic sports where athletes compete for their country—are private affairs. It also is a recipe for disaster.
Absent an official declaration from Washington, it was never obvious who controlled the U.S. Olympic team. The IOC had long recognized the AAU as the NOC of the U.S. Olympic team, but the NCAA did not. In the early 1960s, a group of college track coaches argued that the AAU was doing a lousy job and tried to wrestle power from the organization. The conflict then threatened to disrupt U.S. participation at every Olympic Game from 1964 to 1976.
The U.S. government repeatedly tried to mediate the conflict, to no avail. Bobby Kennedy flew to New York to broker a deal, but it fell through shortly after he landed back in Washington. General Douglas MacArthur was sent to end the war but returned vanquished. Attorney Theodore Kheel, who successfully mediated some of the most brutal labor disputes in U.S. history, met his match in the AAU and NCAA. Presidents formed commissions, and Congress held hearings. Still, the battle raged on.
The conflict finally ended in 1978 when President Jimmy Carter signed the Amateur Sports Act. The Act named the USOPC the official NOC, giving it complete control over the U.S. Olympic team. The USOPC’s victory was the AAU’s loss. Since then, the AAU has become a minor player in amateur athletics. With its old nemesis vanquished, the NCAA grew in power but no longer plays a significant role in managing the U.S. Olympic team.
Analysis
The battle over amateur athletics shows how much sports and politics intertwine. President Teddy Roosevelt’s attempt to save college football created the NCAA. Cold War politics turned the Olympic Games into a proxy war. The U.S. government’s unease with laying down the law led to an ineffectual response that cost Olympic medals. Congress finally resolved the crisis in 1978 with the Amateur Sports Act, but it should have come much sooner.
Of course, there is far more to it than this. As Chudacoff notes, the story is as much about personalities as politics. NCAA director Walter Byers was called “a haughty dictator.” AAU Chief Donald “Speedy” Hull was a former Army colonel and amateur boxer who was charitably called “unyielding.” These pig-headed men repeatedly placed the interests of their organizations ahead of the athletes and country. Someone has to grab the reins when you have two jackasses unwilling to budge, and that someone should have been the U.S. government.
Timeline
January 21, 1888. The Amateur Athletics Association (AAU) was founded.
1894. The American Olympic Association (AOA) was founded, eventually becoming the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
Fall 1905. Nineteen college football players died on the field.
October 9, 1905. Teddy Roosevelt called upon coaches and university presidents to clean up college football during a meeting at the White House.
December 28, 1905. Representatives from sixty-two colleges met in New York and approved rules to make college football safer, including establishing a neutral zone at the line of scrimmage, banning the flying wedge, increasing the first down yardage from 5 to 10 yards, adding a fourth down, instituting an unnecessary roughness penalty, and introducing the forward pass
March 31, 1906. The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS)—the predecessor to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)—was established.
March 31, 1910. The IAAUS was rebranded as the NCAA.
1921. Charley Paddock, a USC sprinter, the 100m gold medalist at the 1920 Antwerp Games, and “the fastest man alive,” competed in a meet in France not sanctioned by the AAU. In response, the AAU threatened to leave Paddock off the 1924 Olympic team but begrudgingly allowed him to compete.
1940. The AOA changed its name to the United States of America Sports Federation (USASF).
1945. The USASF changed its name to the United States Olympic Association (USOA).
1950. The U.S. government enacted Public Law 805, giving the USOA non-profit status and exclusive trademarking rights.
June 1958. Representatives from the NCAA and the AAU met in New York and reached a tentative agreement to recognize each other’s autonomy and set rules governing track & field competitions. However, the governing councils of both organizations subsequently rejected that agreement.
1959. The AAU refused to allow a Swedish basketball team to compete against NCAA teams because a “professional” arranged the trip.
January 1960. The AAU canceled a game between the University of Iowa and the AAU’s Phillips 66ers right before tip-off because Iowa had a professional coach.
April 1960. The NCAA announced it would no longer recognize AAU suspensions of its athletes.
Summer 1960. The AAU scheduled U.S. track athletes on a grueling two-week, four-competition tour around Europe right before the Olympic Games in Rome. The trip was poorly planned, with substandard accommodations, food, and resources.
August 25- September 11, 1960. The Soviet Union tops the medal count at the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome (103 total; 43 gold), with the U.S. coming in second (71 medals; 34 gold).
Fall 1960. AAU takes heat for the U.S.’s poor performance in Rome.
1961. The USOA became the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).
Summer and Fall 1961. The National Collegiate Track Coaches Association (NCTCA) considered severing ties with the AAU. Bill Bowerman, head coach at Oregon, and Don Canham, head coach at Michigan, sent a push poll full of loaded questions to the 800 NCTCA members. Questions included the following:
"Are you satisfied with the method the AAU uses to select coaches for foreign trips (i.e., where one man accepts nominations from AAU committeemen only, takes a postcard vote, counts and announces the selection)?"
"Are you in favor of the present method of selecting Olympic coaches (whereby the AAU appoints an Olympic Committee, the members of which are allowed to vote for themselves)?"
"Do you think it would be better if the National Collegiate Track Coaches Association selected coaches for foreign trips?"
The NCTCA released this subsequent statement:
"We, the executive committee of the NCTCA, in association with the athletes who have signified willingness to join the United States Track and Field Federation, feel that we will be better fitted to implement the physical fitness program advocated by President Kennedy and better able to prepare the track and field athletes of this nation for local, national and international competition by operating as an autonomous body. Hence, the members of this executive committee recommend that NCTCA no longer recognize the right of the AAU to suspend, penalize or levy dues upon any member of this organization, coach or athlete; nor recognize the right of the AAU to select track and field teams for international competition representing the United States. We intend to pursue this new program through existing collegiate bodies.
"This action is taken in order to place in the hands of those best fitted to assume it the responsibility for the development of track and field athletes of the United States.
"We feel that the AAU has failed in its obligation to further understanding and good will between the United States and foreign countries by its careless, often arrogant disregard of requests and invitations by foreign countries for American teams and by its poor handling of relations with foreign officials upon tours. We pledge the utmost cooperation now and henceforth with the U.S. State Department in furthering the good will and understanding between this and other nations which is so much a part of international competition.
"We pledge, too, the inauguration of a comprehensive program for the development of junior athletes in this country similar to the programs already put in operation by some of the members of this body."
September 1961. NCAA track coaches formed the United States Track and Field Federation (USTFF) to act as the sport’s national governing body (NGB). The AAU refused to recognize the USTFF.
November 1962. The USTFF attempted to select the U.S. track & field team for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The AAU refused to recognize the USTFF’s authority or the team they selected. U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy flew to New York to mediate the dispute and left with an understanding that both sides would abide by a temporary plan of shared governance. That agreement, however, soon broke down.
January 4, 1963. Fearing that the USTFF/AAU impasse would threaten U.S. participation in the 1964 Olympic Games, President John F. Kennedy appointed Gen. Douglas MacArthur (ret.) to mediate the conflict. MacArthur had some experience in the matter, having been the president of the American Olympic Association in 1927
March 12, 1963. MacArthur negotiated a temporary settlement whereby an independent board would select the 1964 U.S. Olympic track team, the AAU would reinstate suspended NCAA athletes, and the NCAA would allow its athletes to compete at AAU meets.
October 10-24, 1964. The Soviet Union topped the medal count at the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo (96 total; 30 gold), with the U.S. coming in second (90 medals; 36 gold).
1965. The MacArthur agreement breaks down. The USTFF prohibited its college athletes from participating in future AAU events, and the AAU demanded recognition as the sole governing body for U.S. track & field.
Summer 1965. For the first time, the U.S. lost two head-to-head track meets to the Soviets at an AAU-sponsored event in Kyiv. Critics blamed the USTFF boycott for the weak American team.
August 1965. Alarmed by the defeat by the Soviets in Kyiv and poor performances in the past two Olympics, the Senate Commerce Committee convened ten days of hearings on the NCAA/AAU conflict. In testimony, the AAU argued that the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sanctioned it as the national governing body of American track. IOC president Avery Brundage testified on behalf of the AAU, saying NCAA athletes were “hired” by their institutions and were not true “amateur sportsmen.” The NCAA countered by arguing the AAU was outdated since the best amateur athletes were in college. Despite plenty of fireworks, the hearings resolved nothing.
December 1965. The Senate passed a resolution asking Vice President Hubert Humphrey to create a five-member arbitration panel to deal with the AAU/NCAA conflict. Humphrey named well-respected labor attorney Theodore Kheel to head the group. The NCAA and AAU agreed to stop suspending each other’s athletes until the panel rendered judgment. The NCAA also agreed to binding arbitration, a promise they would subsequently abandon. The AAU also agreed to binding arbitration so long as it didn’t touch its power to name the U.S. Olympic team. As Chudacoff notes, the only thing the NCAA and AAU agreed upon was that the federal government should stay out of amateur sports.
February 1967. The USTFF allowed four non-college athletes to compete in a meet. The AAU responded by banning nine collegiate athletes from its New York Athletic Club event. The NCAA then threatened to pull out of arbitration.
January 1968. The NCAA announced it would unilaterally sanction all track meets—essentially, pretending the AAU didn’t exist—and threatened to withdraw from the USOC unless given greater power.
February 1968. The Kheel Committee released its report. It said the AAU would act as the sole governing body for U.S. track and field. It also established a nine-member arbitration committee to resolve future conflicts. The AAU accepted the recommendation, but the NCAA rejected it. Kheel was livid, saying the NCAA’s backing out of an arbitration settlement set a “horrible example to their students.”
October 12-27, 1968. The United States topped the medal count at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City (107 total; 45 gold), with the Soviets coming in second (91 medals; 29 gold).
1969. The NCAA suspended Yale forward Jack Langer and placed the program on two years probation for Langer’s participation in the AAU-approved Maccabean Games in Israel.
1970. The NCAA unsuccessfully attempted to wrestle away the AAU’s control of international basketball.
August 26-September 11, 1972. The Soviet Union tops the medal count at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich (99 total; 50 gold), with the U.S. coming in second (94 medals; 33 gold). The U.S. basketball team also lost the controversial gold medal game to the Soviets.
December 1972. Citing the lackluster performance at the Munich Games, the NCAA withdrew from the USOC. The withdrawal stoked fears that the NCAA would eventually rule collegiate Olympians ineligible. NCAA director Byers also called upon Congress to overhaul the USOC.
1973. Congress introduced 23 bills concerning amateur athletics and the Olympic Games, but none made it out of committee.
1974. Congress introduced nine bills concerning amateur athletics and the Olympic Games, but none made it out of committee.
1975. Congress introduced two bills concerning amateur athletics and the Olympic Games, but none made it out of committee.
June 19, 1975. Gerald Ford signed Executive Order 11868, which created the Presidential Commission on Olympic Sports. Chairman of the Eastman Kodak Corporation, Gerald Zornow, headed the 21-member panel, which included eight members of Congress and numerous athletes. The wording of the Executive Order reflected Ford’s desire to win along with his reluctance to get involved:
“America has a special interest in its representation in the Olympic Games and other international athletic competitions….The Federal Government has never attempted to direct amateur athletics in this country, nor should it. However, the Government does have a role in helping to promote United States competition in international sporting events… In the past, rivalries among amateur sports organizations have sometimes fragmented our international sports efforts, hindered opportunity for our athletes to develop their skills fully, and restrained voluntary financial support for our Olympic teams as well as other amateur sports teams engaged in international competitions.”
1976. Congress introduced one bill concerning amateur athletics and the Olympic Games, but it didn’t make it out of committee.
1977. Congress introduced one bill concerning amateur athletics and the Olympic Games, but it didn’t make it out of committee.
January 12, 1977. The Presidential Commission on Olympic Sports, created by Executive Order 11868, released its final report with six recommendations:
The USOC takes the lead on Olympic sports.
Each amateur sport should have its own national governing body.
Future disputes should be handled through binding arbitration.
Partial governmental funding of Olympic sports
Protect athletes from AAU or NCAA bans for competing in unsanctioned events.
Allow athletes to benefit from name, image, and likeness as long as they do not take payment for competition.
1978. Congress introduced nine bills concerning amateur athletics and the Olympic Games, one of which became public law.
November 8, 1978. President Jimmy Carter signed The Amateur Sports Act of 1978, which included many of the recommendations from the President’s Commission on Olympic Sports. The most important consequence of the Act is that it named the USOC the official National Organizing Committee of U.S. Olympic sports. The Amateur Sports Act thus ended the 50-year squabble between the AAU and the NCAA.
1989. The governing body for international basketball, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), voted to allow NBA players to participate in the Olympics. USA Basketball voted against allowing pros to play because it hurt collegiate players.
1992. The United States men’s basketball team won gold at the 1992 Barcelona Games. The “Dream Team” included 10 NBA players and was “arguably the most dominant squad ever assembled in any sport.”
1998. Congress passed the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. This Act allowed professionals to compete in all Olympic sports, thus dealing the final blow to amateurism in the Olympic Games.
2019. The USOC changed its name to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
