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WASHINGTON, DC 20510

February 7, 2019

John Swofford James E. Delany
Commissioner Commissioner
Atlantic Coast Conference Big 10 Conference
4512 Weybridge Lane 5440 Park Place

Greensboro, NC 27407 Rosemont, IL 60018

Bob 
greg Sanl<ey Commissioner
Big 12 Conference

400 hn 
2201 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North IrVingasrXo7506?21rpen er reeway
Birmingham, AL 35203 
Larry Scott
Commissioner

Paci?c 12 Conference
360 3rd Street, 3rd Floor

San Francisco, CA 94107
Dear Commissioners:

We write today to request that you take serious and meaningful steps to address the misconduct
and sexual violence within the athletics programs in your respective conferences. In the absence
of meaningful action by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), we are looking to
your conferences to stand up for the thousands of young people who experience sexual violence
on campus by cultivating a culture of safety, accountability, and respect for students? rights. We
believe that participation in athletics is a privilege, not a right, and that college athletes who
perpetrate serious misconduct must be held accountable.

The decision to convene the Commission to Combat Campus Sexual Violence (?the
Commission?) in 2016 was an important ?rst step towards combating the epidemic of campus
sexual Violence. Therefore, we were incredibly disappointed by the NCAA Board of Governors?
decision to quietly dissolve the Commission in August 2018 without addressing any real
challenges or recommending meaningful solutions. Notably, the Commission speci?cally
recommended that the Board of Governors adopt legislation dealing with issues of individual

accountability. This legislation could have addressed problematic-policies that allow students
with histories of serious misconduct to transfer between institutions within athletic conferences.
The NCAA Board of Governors dissolved the Commission without considering this or any other
meaningful legislation regarding sexual violence prevention that extends further than the actions
already required by federal law.

In the absence of NCAA leadership, several universities and athletic conferences across the
country have proactively implemented policies to address sexual violence and serious
misconduct on campus, including some conferences that have policies to prevent transfer of
students with a history of sexual assault from transferring into any of their member universities.

To better understand your plans to address the epidemic of campus sexual violence, speci?cally
as it pertains to college athletes, we ask you to consider the following questions while you work
to evaluate conference policies and to provide the following information to our of?ces.

1. Please describe any steps your conference has taken in the last year to reduce rates of
serious misconduct or sexual violence among young people who participate in college
athletics, and plans you have for working on this issue in the future.

2. Is your conference considering any changes to college athlete policies, including transfer
policies, to address incidents of serious misconduct or sexual violence? Why or why not?

3. Have member institutions within your conference seen significant reductions in
incidences of sexual violence through federally-required education efforts alone, as
recommended by the Commission? How do you collect information from your members
related to consequences for students who have perpetrated serious misconduct or sexual
assault?

4. Do your member institutions refuse admission, financial aid, or any other privileges to
students or transfer students who are not athletes and who have serious misconduct or
sexual assault records? If so, do your member institutions have exceptions to or
implement these policies differently in the case of college athletes?

5. Do your member institutions have policies in place to address criminal records of college
athletes and transfer college athletes? If so, do these policies mandate informing other
institutions, should the student elect to transfer? If so, please provide these policies.

6. If your member institutions do request student background checks, how do the
institutions protect the student?s privacy rights? Does your conference have a policy on
student privacy rights? If so, please provide those policies.

All students deserve the opportunity to obtain higher education free from sexual violence or
misconduct. We urge you to work with sexual assault survivors, victim?s rights groups, and other
advocacy organizations to take meaningful action so students can feel truly safe on campus.

Sincerely,

a, tam

Ron Wyden

United States Senator United States Senator

Jeffrey A. Merkley Margaret Wood Hassan

United States Senator United States Senator
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Richard Blumenthal Klobuchar

United States Senator United States Senator

Tina Smith Edward W]%4al key a

United States Senator United States Senator