John Calipari, Mitch Barnhart stop in Washington D.C. to push NIL legislation

This week, college coaches, athletic directors, and collectives from across the country are converging on Capitol Hill in order to push forward name, image, and likeness (NIL) legislation. Kentucky men’s basketball head coach John Calipari and athletic director Mitch Barnhart are just two of the members from the SEC’s delegation that made the trip to Washington D.C.

On Wednesday, Calipari and Barnhart, along with Kentucky softball head coach Rachel Lawson, met with federal lawmakers to discuss NIL legislation. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Alabama football head coach Nick Saban are leading the effort to create NIL uniformity across all schools and conferences.

The goal is for these coaches and administrators to better educate lawmakers on the truths of NIL at the college level and how it can make a positive impact on student-athletes and the schools as a whole. Calipari, Barnhart, and Lawson met with the likes of Congressman Hal Rogers and Congressman James Comer’s Chief of Staff Caroline Cash during their initial stop in the nation’s capital.

Mitch Barnhart and John Calipari met with the Chief of Staff in Jamie Comer’s office today to talk about NIL legislation pic.twitter.com/oSX9PAt0Ty

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) June 7, 2023

A lack of NIL uniformity across all states, which has put a number of schools at a disadvantage when dealing with NIL, is one of the main topics of discussion. The hope is to create a federal NIL law that will oversee all colleges and universities.

“There’s increasing interest and recognition of the need for Congressional engagement to resolve these issues,” Sankey said last week at SEC meetings in Floridas. “What’s happening at the state level is exactly what we warned about. Our states are making a mess of college athletics. Our states are adopting laws that are not helpful to conduct conference competition and national competition.

“… Will Congress continue to provide the opportunity for a national solution? It’s not necessarily what any of us would have preferred four or five years ago, but it’s our current reality.”

The NCAA is attempting to create its own policy for NIL, but college administrators and coaches prefer a federal ruling that would equate to an even playing field. The next few days could be critical in making that happen.

As a semi-unrelated side note, Calipari ran into a familiar face while in D.C., former Wildcat Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

MKG was in DC today!! So proud of his efforts to bring light to those who stutter. pic.twitter.com/1T7oZgXIUz

— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 7, 2023