(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a name, image and likeness bill for the University of Wisconsin that will send the athletic department $15 million annually for facility debt service and provide a wide-ranging public records exemption for any revenue or expenditure for the athletic department.
Evers’ partial veto removed the word “maintenance” from the bill so the $15 million annually from the state’s general fund can only be used for facility debt at any of the UW schools.
“I am partially vetoing this bill because I object to the potential confusion created by referring to ‘maintenance,’ and my partial veto will better reflect the intent that the funding alleviate existing debt service,” Evers wrote in his partial veto. “I also object to how this bill unnecessarily restricts the use of funds appropriated for athletic facilities within the University of Wisconsin System. I believe that greater flexibility is necessary to ensure this funding can be used effectively and allow the system to maximize the state’s investment.”
Evers chose not to alter a portion of the bill that the Wisconsin Newspaper Association warned lawmakers and the public about that could have a sweeping unintended impact that goes well beyond NIL records.
The bill would exempt records related to the “generation, deployment, or allocation of revenue generated by an intercollegiate athletic program.”
The NIL bill narrowly passed the Wisconsin Senate on a 17-16 vote.
UW-Madison Athletics Director Chris McIntosh said in committee that the $14.6 million in funding annually to the school’s athletic department for facilities debt is essentially for the athletic department to remain competitive and supporting 23 sports and 600-plus athletes. He said that women’s and Olympic sports were at stake related to the bill.
The Badgers’ football program accounted for 80% of the program’s revenue, equaling $113.6 million last fiscal year, according to the NCAA report, which showed the football program brought in $72 million in excess during the year.
