(The Center Square) – A University of Wisconsin name, image and likeness athletics bill that would send $15 million to the universities for facilities and remove most college athletics spending from being a public record passed the state’s Joint Committee on Finance 8-5 on Wednesday.
Republican Sens. Julian Bradley, Patrick Testin and Rob Stafsholt opposed the bill along with Democratic Sens. Kelda Roys and LaTonya Johnson.
The Republican-sponsored proposal is about NIL changes and rules while its impact goes beyond NIL. The bill passed the Committee on Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development earlier 3-2.
The bill will next head to the full Senate after it was approved 95-1 by the Assembly.
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.
UW-Madison athletics operated with a $4.3 million surplus in its most recent annual NCAA financial report released earlier this year covering the financial year that ended in June 2025.
The 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.
“In the event that this legislation is not passed, we will be forced to reconcile our revenues with our liabilities, like we always have,” McIntosh told the Senate committee. “And that will come through a series of painful reductions, further emphasis on increasing our revenues.
“And, what I fear is, that through those reductions in support of our sport programs, all of our sport programs, all 23 of our sport programs, we’ll be left in a situation in which it will be difficult to say the least, for us to be competitive in the sports that generate in excess of 80% of the revenues. And it will also be difficult to be competitive.”
The Wisconsin Newspaper Association, meanwhile, warned lawmakers and the public that a public records stipulation in the bill 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.”
