“I want the next generation to inherit a system that preserves these opportunities, not one that gradually strips them away.”
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Sports Seriously
Ruben Rojas Betanzos is a student-athlete at Syracuse, President of Syracuse’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and ACC representative on SAAC.
When people think about college athletics today, far too often the conversation centers on NIL, conference realignment and legal battles. Lost in that debate are the opportunities college sports have made possible for thousands of student-athletes, and what athletes and fans actually care about.
It would be a shame if the legal and financial battles surrounding college sports consumed all the oxygen in the room and came to define the student-athlete experience. Thankfully, that outcome isn’t set in stone. Congress can and should act before it is too late.
I am blessed to run cross-country and track at Syracuse, where I am also pursuing degrees in biomedical engineering and business. Being a student-athlete has given me the chance to train alongside and compete against some of the best athletes in the country while receiving an education I once could only have imagined. And those opportunities extend far beyond the track and classroom.
At Syracuse, I serve in student government and conduct research in world-class laboratories. I also represent my fellow student-athletes as president of Syracuse’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee and within the Atlantic Coast Conference in discussions about the future of college athletics.
These experiences are why the debate over the future of college athletics is so personal to me. I want the next generation to inherit a system that preserves these opportunities, not one that gradually strips them away.
Being a student-athlete has allowed me to grow in ways I never anticipated. I’ve found mentors who have helped shape my academic and athletic journey and teammates who have become family. Balancing Division I athletics with a rigorous academic schedule has taught me discipline, time management and resilience — skills I will carry long after I run my last race.
Looking back, I recognize that without college athletics and the NCAA system, I likely wouldn’t have had the chance to attend a university like Syracuse in the first place.
My experience isn’t unique either. For many student-athletes across the country, sports are often what opens doors to earning a college degree. That intersection of athletics and academics is what distinguishes college sports from every other level of competition. And that is why its future matters so deeply.
Today, however, that system is in jeopardy.
Without a consistent national framework, schools, conferences and student-athletes are forced to navigate shifting rules and legal challenges as lawsuits work their way through a plethora of district courts. The most confusing part? A legal ruling in one region can look entirely different for an athlete competing across a state border. So instead of focusing on the competition ahead, their education or how to improve their programs, athletes and institutions are increasingly left trying to anticipate what rules will govern them next.
Change in college sports is inevitable. Instability shouldn’t be.
As an ACC Student Athlete Advisory Committee representative, I’ve spoken with student-athletes from institutions across our conference. Regardless of sport or school, one theme consistently emerges: uncertainty about what college athletics will look like in the years ahead.
Congress has a role to play in bringing stability back to the system. Of the proposals under consideration, the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA) offers the most realistic path forward. It will provide greater certainty for schools and student-athletes navigating new things such as NIL and the transfer portal, and it will preserve Olympic and non-revenue sports that are an essential part of college athletics.
This matters even more as athletic departments adjust to new financial obligations, including revenue sharing. When budgets are squeezed, sports that don’t generate significant television or ticket revenue are often the first considered for cuts. Yet these programs provide thousands of student-athletes with the same kind of opportunities that have changed my life.
The Protect College Sports Act isn’t perfect. No legislation is. But it recognizes that protecting college athletics means protecting opportunity for all athletes, not just the ones who will go on to play professionally.
For most of us, college athletics have never been solely about the competition. They are about becoming part of a campus community, representing something larger than yourself and preparing for life after graduation. That combination is one of the great strengths of American higher education, and it deserves to be protected.
I have been incredibly blessed by everything college athletics has offered me. I have competed at Division I level, pursued an ambitious education, conducted complex research, served my university and found a community that has changed the course of my life.
I want the student-athletes who come after me to have those same chances.
Congress has an opportunity to give college athletics a more stable future. I urge lawmakers to pass the Protect College Sports Act and help ensure that the doors college sports opened for me remain open for the athletes who come next.
