Athletics/private equity

AN ACT Relating to prohibiting certain private equity and 1
sovereign wealth fund agreements in intercollegiate athletics; 2
amending RCW 28B.10.703; and creating new sections.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that 5
intercollegiate athletics are conducted under the auspices of 6
nonprofit institutions of higher education and, when properly 7
governed, promote student development, campus life, community 8
identity, and broad public engagement in education, benefits that 9
constitute a public good aligned with the educational missions those 10
institutions are chartered to serve.11
(2) The legislature further finds that intercollegiate athletics 12
generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue annually through 13
national media contracts, sponsorships, and ticket sales within our 14
state, creating a significant impact on our commerce.15
(3) Public institutions of higher education are financed and 16
supported by taxpayers through direct appropriations, tax-exempt 17
status, subsidized federal student aid, state grant funds, and tax-18
advantaged debt, and therefore have a heightened obligation to ensure 19
that institutional assets, including intercollegiate athletics 20
S-3740.1
SENATE BILL 6235
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Holy, Boehnke, Dozier, J. Wilson, Riccelli, McCune,
Warnick, Hasegawa, and Nobles
Read first time 01/20/26. Referred to Committee on Higher Education
& Workforce Development.
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programs and facilities, are managed for public benefit and student 1
welfare rather than private enrichment. 2
(4) The legislature therefore acknowledges that these agreements 3
that convey ownership, revenue-sharing, control rights, or security 4
interests in intercollegiate athletics to private equity, hedge 5
funds, or similar vehicles are inherently conflicted, create pressure 6
to maximize short-term cash flows at the expense of educational and 7
Title IX obligations, and risk extracting wealth from publicly 8
supported institutions and their students, undermining transparency, 9
accountability, and the public purposes for which those institutions 10
exist. 11
Sec. 2. RCW 28B.10.703 and 1977 ex.s. c 169 s 32 are each 12
amended to read as follows: 13
(1) The governing boards of each of the state universities, the 14
regional universities, The Evergreen State College, and community 15
colleges in addition to their other duties prescribed by law shall 16
have the power and authority to establish programs for 17
intercollegiate athletic competition. Such competition may include 18
participation as a member of an athletic conference or conferences, 19
in accordance with conference rules. 20
(2)(a) As a condition of the power and authority established in 21
this section, an institution of higher education may not enter into, 22
maintain, or permit any agreement with a private capital firm or a 23
sovereign wealth fund that:24
(i) Transfers, assigns, pledges, or otherwise conveys to such 25
firm or fund any ownership, profit, net revenue, or gross revenue 26
interest arising from the institution's intercollegiate athletics 27
program, including media, sponsorship, licensing, ticketing, premium 28
seating, data, or other commercial rights;29
(ii) Grants such firm or fund control rights over athletics 30
decisions, institutional branding, scheduling, personnel, or student 31
participation; or32
(iii) Establishes a joint venture, new entity, or other agreement 33
through which such firm or fund receives any share of, or any 34
interest in, athletics-related revenues or rights, including 35
licensing and merchandising rights, or athletics facilities or 36
related real property including any leasehold, sublease, concession, 37
easement, mortgage, deed of trust, lien, or similar property 38
interest.39
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(b) Except as limited in (a) of this subsection, the following 1
agreements are allowable:2
(i) Fee-for-service contracts for discrete services;3
(ii) Charitable contributions, gifts, or grants;4
(iii) Tax-exempt bond financings, lease-purchase agreements with 5
governmental units, or governmental entities that issue tax-exempt 6
bonds that do not convey revenue interests or control rights to a 7
private capital firm; and8
(iv) Sponsorships or advertising agreements that provide brand 9
placement without revenue sharing or control.10
(c) An institution of higher education shall ensure compliance 11
for any agreement entered by an athletics conference, media-rights 12
consortium, or other affiliate that allocates, assigns, or encumbers 13
the institution's athletics-related revenues or rights.14
(d) This section applies to any collective, foundation, 15
affiliate, or separate legal entity that is directly or indirectly 16
owned, controlled, or operated by the institution of higher education 17
or its athletics department.18
(e) The governing boards of each of the institutions of higher 19
education shall require annual program participation agreement 20
certification that the institution and its affiliates have not 21
entered into any agreement listed under (a) of this subsection and 22
shall require public disclosure of all agreements relying on an 23
exception under (b) of this subsection. The governing boards of each 24
of the institutions of higher education shall report to the 25
appropriate higher education committees of the legislature on these 26
agreements annually.27
(3) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions 28
apply:29
(a) "Control rights" includes consent, veto, or approval rights 30
over budgets, hiring, scheduling, competition, branding, or strategic 31
decisions; or other rights to assume or direct management or 32
operations of an intercollegiate athletics program or athletics 33
facility;34
(b) "Intercollegiate athletics program" includes teams, 35
departments, conferences, media or data rights, ticketing and premium 36
seating, sponsorships, licensing and merchandising, and athletics 37
facilities used primarily for intercollegiate varsity sports 38
competition;39
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(c) "Private capital firm" means (i) a hedge fund or private 1
equity fund as those terms are defined in 12 U.S.C. Sec. 1851 (h)(2), 2
(ii) a private fund as defined in 15 U.S.C. Sec. 80b–2 (a)(29), and 3
(iii) any investment adviser (as defined in 15 U.S.C. Sec. 4
80b–2(a)(11)) that advises a fund described in (c)(i) or (ii) of this 5
subsection; and6
(d) "Sovereign wealth fund" means an investment fund owned or 7
controlled by a foreign state, an agency or instrumentality of a 8
foreign state (as defined in 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1603), or an agent of a 9
foreign principal (as defined in 22 U.S.C. Sec. 611).10
(4) Agreements in effect on the effective date of this section 11
must be brought into compliance or terminated no later than 24 months 12
after such date. No agreement may be renewed or extended without 13
compliance with this section.14
(5) The governing boards shall adopt rules after consultation 15
with the state treasurer and the department of financial institutions 16
and, to the maximum extent practicable, harmonize such regulations 17
with definitions and interpretations under the federal securities 18
laws.19
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. If any part of this act is found to be in 20
conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to 21
the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting part of 22
this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with 23
respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not 24
affect the operation of the remainder of this act in its application 25
to the agencies concerned. Rules adopted under this act must meet 26
federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of 27
federal funds by the state.28
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