Non-partisan naming, image and likeness laws, the top priority for University of Missouri soccer coach Eli Drinkwitz, will be signed by Governor Mike Parson (R) on Tuesday.
Mizzou soccer coach Eli Drinkwitz (right) met with numerous individual state lawmakers in Jefferson City on May 6, 2021, including State Sen. Denny Hoskins (left); Photo courtesy Senator Denny Hoskins from Warrensburg)
The provision is contained in a major higher education bill sponsored by State Rep. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau.
A bipartisan coalition of Conservative Republicans, Progressive Democrats and others pushed for the naming, image and likeness legislation, saying it will help Mizzou better compete against defending champion Alabama and other SEC opponents.
A provision in House Bill 297 prohibits public and private higher education institutions in Missouri from preventing a student from earning compensation for the student’s name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation.
The bill also prohibits colleges from “revoking or reducing scholarships or grants if a student receives compensation”. It also requires that lawyers or agents representing an athlete be licensed in Missouri.
Coach Drinkwitz traveled to the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City on May 6 to meet with lawmakers and push for legislation.
State representatives Jeff Knight (R-Lebanon) and Nick Schroer (R-O’Fallon) had a discussion in the house that day and explained what Coach Drinkwitz had said to the legislators. Knight told Schroer that legislation is needed to help Drinkwitz compete against Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban, who is recruiting high school players from Missouri. Coach Saban has won six national championships in Tuscaloosa since 2009.
“He (Trainer Drinkwitz) just mentioned two athletes from Missouri, and their last two schools are the University of Missouri and Alabama,” Knight told Schroer that day.
“And Alabama passed,” replied Schroer.
Rep. Knight, who visited Mizzou and was a longtime high school coach in southwest Missouri, says Alabama lawmakers moved quickly. He says determination is critical to helping the Tigers compete better.
“Anytime you get a program at this level where you’re recruiting against Alabama and they (the Alabama Legislature) passed this legislation and we didn’t, just don’t put the tools in his (Coach Drinkwitz) toolbox that he needs to compete in the SEC, “says Knight.
In addition to Schroer and Knight, numerous other legislators from both parties pushed for the provision. These include Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia), State Senator Greg Razer (D-Kansas City), former Tiger and State MP Kurtis Gregory (R-Marshall) and State MP Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City) . ) and Kevin Windham (D-Hillsdale).
Emphasizing that the issue is bipartisan, MP Schroer says that red and blue states “appreciate the capitalist free market principles contained in this amendment,” referring to the definition of name, image and likeness.
The General Law on Higher Education contains several other important provisions, including the lifting of the upper limit on tuition fees. The draft law requires public universities that use differentiated degree programs to notify the state of this and no longer use the required tuition fees.
Wallingford’s bill also designates Southeast Missouri State University at Cape Girardeau as an institution with a statewide mission in the visual and performing arts, computer science, and cybersecurity.
And she names Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville as an institution with a statewide mission in educator preparation, emergency / disaster management, and job-based learning.
Wallingford’s bill was finally approved by the Missouri Senate in May with 23 votes to 9. The last House vote in May was 145: 8.
Click here to listen to the May 6, 2021 Missouri House panel discussion on Name, Image and Likeness between State Representatives Nick Schroer (R-O’Fallon) and Jeff Knight (R-Lebanon). Mizzou soccer coach Eli Drinkwitz had been in the chamber that morning:
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