(110 ILCS 25/2) (from Ch. 144, par. 2902)
Sec. 2. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:
(a) All parties to any type of contract in Illinois are entitled to certain protections under law in the making of contracts and the resolution of disputes under those contracts. The duty of the State and its institutions to protect its citizens, institutions of higher learning, businesses, and other entities is especially strong where the parties have greatly unequal bargaining power and one party is essentially a monopoly providing a needed product, service, or relationship which cannot be obtained elsewhere.
(b) Collegiate athletic associations are national unincorporated associations consisting of both private and public colleges and universities and are essentially monopolies controlling intercollegiate athletics throughout the United States, giving them great leverage in dealing with local Illinois institutions that need membership to participate in sports on a national level.
(c) Participation in sports on a national level is essential because it brings recognition to the university or college. It also creates a greater sense of pride and loyalty among students, faculty, alumni, and other citizens who may contribute more to the school of their choice because of its sports successes or support it more intensely in other ways. Further, participation in national sports brings in revenue to the university that helps to fund its various programs.
(d) Membership in a national collegiate athletic association of schools of similar size or function is essential for Illinois institutions of higher learning to compete on a national level in all sports of any significance.
(e) Collegiate athletic associations adopt rules governing member institutions' admissions, academic eligibility, and financial aid standards for collegiate athletes. Any member institution must agree contractually to administer its athletic program in accordance with a collegiate athletic association's legislation.
(f) Obviously, collegiate athletic associations exercise great power over member institutions by virtue of their monopolistic control over intercollegiate athletics and the power to prevent a nonconforming institution from competing in intercollegiate athletic events or contests.
(g) Again, obviously, the procedures employed to determine whether violations of association rules have occurred are of paramount significance. Present collegiate athletic association rules provide that association enforcement procedures are an essential part of the intercollegiate athletic program of each member institution. This can provide an inadequate method of protecting Illinois institutions and their students and employees, such as coaches or athletic directors, if the procedures are not fair to all those charged with violations.
(h) Collegiate athletic associations engage in a governmental or regulatory type of activity amounting to State action over all member institutions. Further, when the regulation is of a State-created institution funded by taxpayer dollars, it should be obvious that the association receives its authority from the State or its agents. By force of their rules, applicable only by agreement with the public institution, they can cause such an institution to take certain actions necessary to remain in the association, with all that entails. Any sanction against a public institution, then, must be effectuated by the joint action of that association and the public institution. This regulatory activity amounts to State action that should require and does require the application of all due process protections provided by the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Illinois.
(i) The State of Illinois has a deep public interest in ensuring that the procedures for determining whether violations of association rules have actually occurred are fair to its students, university or college employees, institutions of higher learning, and the communities in which the institutions operate.
The individual student athlete or employee, such as a coach or athletic director, risks serious damage to his or her reputation, the means to make a livelihood, and personal and professional aspirations.
The institution may suffer a substantial monetary loss and serious disruption of its athletic programs. Any such consequences upon an Illinois public institution of higher learning also has a direct impact on the amount of taxpayer support that must be provided to that institution. Moreover, the State has a right to feel pride in the accomplishments and reputations of its institutions of higher learning and seek to protect its institutions' reputations from harm inflicted by unfair means.
(j) If fairness and due process are not required in the determination of whether violations have occurred, the possibility exists of imposing penalties in an arbitrary and capricious manner resulting in the unwarranted tarnishing of the reputations of great institutions of higher education and of many individuals associated with those institutions.
(k) The State has an interest in protecting the communities in which its schools are located from losing the economic benefits reaped from hosting major sporting events.
(l) The present procedures of collegiate athletic associations do not reflect the principle that one is innocent until proven guilty. Because of such potentially serious and far-reaching consequences, the procedures used to determine whether a violation of substantive association rules has occurred should reflect greater fairness and due process considerations than now apply and should provide for a speedier determination than at present of whether a violation of association rules has occurred.
(Source: P.A. 87-462.)
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Last modified: February 18, 2015