HB2141 • 2026

Education, Higher

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 7, Part 1, relative to the confidentiality of intercollegiate athletics program records.

Education

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Zachary, Stevens
Last action: 2026-04-07
Official status: Transmitted to Governor for his action.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide specific details on what happens after July 1, 2033 for commercial contract records.

Tennessee Law to Keep College Sports Records Confidential

This bill makes certain college sports records confidential and extends their confidentiality beyond July 1, 2026.

What This Bill Does

Removes the repeal date for existing laws that classify certain intercollegiate athletics program records as confidential.
Adds new rules to keep commercial contracts related to college sports programs secret until July 1, 2033.
Specifies that people cannot sue to get these private records unless they are businesses affected by the contract information.

Who It Names or Affects

Public colleges and universities in Tennessee
Businesses involved in college sports programs

Terms To Know

Commercial Contracts: Agreements between businesses for goods or services related to college sports.
Intercollegiate Athletics Program: Sports teams and activities organized by colleges and universities.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens after July 1, 2033 for the new rules about commercial contracts.
It is unclear how this will affect public access to information about college sports programs.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA0637

Amendment 1-0 to HB2141

Plain English: The amendment changes Tennessee's laws to keep certain college sports records secret and limits what information can be shared about business contracts related to these programs.

Records of intercollegiate athletics that relate to game or player integrity will be treated as confidential and not open for public inspection.
Commercial contracts entered into solely in furtherance of an intercollegiate athletics program are also kept secret, except for basic details like the amount of state funds used, who is involved, and what the contract is about.
Businesses can sue if disclosing information would hurt their competitive edge.

The amendment does not explain how these changes will be enforced or monitored.

Bill History

2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Transmitted to Governor for his action.
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by Senate Speaker
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by H. Speaker
2026-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.
2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed Senate, Ayes 29, Nays 0, PNV 1
2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.
2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Companion House Bill substituted
2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/26/2026
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Received from House, Passed on First Consideration
2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly
Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.
2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed H., as am., Ayes 74, Nays 6, PNV 7
2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly
H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0637)
2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/19/2026
2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly
Reset on cal. for 3/19/2026
2026-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/16/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/12/2026
2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee
2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/10/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/10/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Education Committee
2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Higher Education Subcommittee for 3/4/2026
2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee
2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 2/25/2026
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Higher Education Subcommittee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, ref. to Education Committee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee
2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law classifies as confidential and not open for public inspection records maintained by an intercollegiate athletics program of a public institution of higher education if the records contain information relating to game or player integrity and th
at is traditionally not revealed publicly due to the public institution of higher education's need to maintain competitiveness in the sport to which the records relate. Such provision is scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2026.

This bill:

(1) Removes the repeal date for the present law exception to the open records act;

(2) Adds an additional exception for
records of or relating to an intercollegiate athletics program of a public institution of higher education if
the
records are commercial contracts entered into solely in furtherance of an intercollegiate athletics program and contain information that if disclosed to the public, reasonably could be used to affect the economic advantage of a business over its competit
ors. The new exception will be repealed July 1, 2033; and

(3) Specifies that neither exception affords a private cause of action, liability, or basis for injunctive relief or equitable relief by any private person or entity except for a business asserting that disclosure of information would undermine an econo
mic advantage over its competitor.

ON MARCH 19, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2141, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 a
dds that, in circumstances where records are deemed confidential and not open for public inspection on the basis of this bill's exemption for certain commercial contracts,

the exemption must not be construed to treat as confidential the information of the aggregate amount of state appropriated funds expended under such a contract, the existence of such a contract, the identity of the contracting parties of such a contract,
or the general topic of such a contract.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SENATE BILL 2292
By Stevens

HOUSE BILL 2141
By Zachary
HB2141
011881
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
Chapter 7, Part 1, relative to the confidentiality of
intercollegiate athletics program records.

WHEREAS, this State fosters the growth of its sports and entertainment industry and
encourages lawful competition and economic development to further academics, athletics,
trade, and commerce in Tennessee; now, therefore,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-170(a), is amended by deleting
the subsection and substituting instead the following:
(a) Notwithstanding § 10-7-504 or another law to the contrary, records of or
relating to an intercollegiate athletics program of a public institution of higher education
must be treated as confidential and must not be open for public inspection if:
(1) The records contain information relating to game or player integrity
and that is traditionally not revealed publicly due to the public institution of higher
education's need to maintain competitiveness in the sport to which the records
relate; or
(2) The records are commercial contracts entered into solely in
furtherance of an intercollegiate athletics program and contain information that if
disclosed to the public, reasonably could be used to affect the economic
advantage of a business over its competitors.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-170(f), is amended by deleting
the subsection and substituting instead the following:

- 2 - 011881

(f) This section does not create or afford any private cause of action, liability, or
basis for injunctive relief or equitable relief by any private person or entity except for a
business asserting that disclosure of information would undermine an economic
advantage over its competitor.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-170, is amended by adding the
following as a new subsection (g):
(g) Subdivision (a)(2) is repealed on July 1, 2033.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.