Senior VP for External Affairs @NCAA, former Chief of Staff to Governor, @CharlieBakerMA

Massachusetts
Joined March 2010
Tim Buckley retweeted
In 2025-26 (the first academic year under the House injunction), Division I schools provided $1.8 billion to student-athletes in direct financial benefits.
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I applaud @SenTedCruz for leading the Protect College Sports Act, which passed the Senate with bipartisan support. After years of uncertainty and constant litigation, college sports need stability. This bill protects student athletes, preserves women's and Olympic sports, and secures the future of college athletics across the country. I look forward to taking it up in the House.
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Tim Buckley retweeted
This is very significant IMO
The chairs of the NCAA's Student-Athlete Advisory Committees have sent a letter urging the House of Representatives to pass the Protect College Sports Act.
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College athlete leaders released a letter supporting the Protect College Sports Act and urging House members to pass the bill.
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One down one to go
Passed, 77-22: Passage of Cal. #449, S.4668, Protect College Sports Act of 2026, as amended.
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"The future of college athletics should not be uncertain because of conflicting state laws and judicial micromanaging. Congress should stabilize intercollegiate sports by enacting the Protect College Sports Act." via @musportslaw's Prof Matt Mitten thehill.com/opinion/educatio…
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Tim Buckley retweeted
Shaped by sport. Defined by possibility. 💙
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Student-athletes from all divisions from all across the country are calling for the Senate to pass the Protect College Sports Act now:
For generations, college sports have provided opportunities to learn, compete, grow, and lead. Student-athletes are calling for stability and asking Congress to protect opportunities for future generations. Pass the Protect College Sports Act ➡️ ncaa.org/protect-college-spo…
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Tim Buckley retweeted
We are proud to have Elijah representing the Mountain West on Capitol Hill today supporting the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA)! #BuiltBold | @NevadaHoops | @NevadaWolfPack | @GloNevarez
Proud to have our guy, Elijah Price, representing the Mountain West and joining student-athletes from across the country in Washington, D.C. today to advocate for the Protect College Sports Act 👏🐺 #BattleBorn | #PackParty
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Tim Buckley retweeted
The Oklahoma City Bombing happened six years before the 9/11 attack on America 25 years ago and we had a unique relationship between OKC & NYC as we exchanged concepts about “MEMORIALIZATION” and how to appropriately honor the fallen; mt youtu.be/gFCX8ubabxY
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Tim Buckley retweeted
1) Proof? This is rhetoric. Here are the real numbers and the real story: 2) “Revenue for college sports is booming.” Maybe at the very top, but 94% of DI athletics programs spend more than they generate, including 49 of 69 “Power” programs. Great for the SEC that it distributed $1B. That’s 16 schools. There are hundreds of schools in DI. What about everyone else? Maybe you mean the sports supposedly driving all the profits? Still wrong. 76% of DI men’s basketball and 67% of DI football programs don’t generate enough revenue to cover even their own operating expenses. Revenue is NOT profit. 3) “Women’s sports are growing.” Great. Let’s protect that. College athletics is intentionally a broad-based participation model. DI schools are required to sponsor multiple men’s and women’s sports. It isn’t a professional league designed to operate only profitable teams. 4) “Ratings prove fans like athletes getting paid.” No. Ratings prove fans love college sports. Fans support the front of the jersey. Players graduate, transfer and turn pro. The fans remain. 5) “There is no chaos.” Conflicting state laws. Constant litigation. Rising costs ultimately borne by universities, students, donors and, at many publicly funded universities, taxpayers. That’s not a sustainable way to govern a national system. And turning this debate to race ignores the diversity of the athletes whose opportunities are at stake. There are nearly 90,000 Black student-athletes across the NCAA and more than half compete in sports other than football and men’s basketball. What about them? Their opportunities matter too. Using the economics of a small fraction of DI programs to define all of college athletics isn’t the full story. It’s misleading rhetoric. What about the 94% @ChrisMurphyCT ? Who pays? And what happens to everyone else?
Look at the massive crowd behind them and tell me with a straight face that college sports are in "absolute chaos". The "chaos" is that (mostly black) athletes now have bargaining power and white coaches and sports industry execs hate it. 1/ Want proof? Here are the numbers:
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"This continues an important trend. Every appellate court to consider these issues to date, including the Tenth Circuit and appellate courts in Ohio, Tennessee, and Georgia, has recognized both the strength of the NCAA's legal arguments and the substantial harm that results..."
NCAA’s latest communication with members on the eligibility lawsuits: Nearly 77 lawsuits involving 612 athletes have been filed over the eligibility rules, with 326 athletes having been granted some level of eligibility.
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Tim Buckley retweeted
We’ve got to pass the Protect College Sports Act. @SenTedCruz and @Eric_Schmitt had this one right from the beginning. If you care about cfb- we must have it. If you care about women’s sports, it must pass. If you beleive in Olympic sports and the power of a scholarship to changes lives, support this bill.
Reading the Southeastern Conference brief that has been filed today in Louisiana. It’s intense. If LSU plays a former NFL player this season the conference is basically letting LSU know there will be hell to pay. It’s messy now, it could get ugly really fast.
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Tim Buckley retweeted
To every student-athlete who has spoken up in support of the Protect College Sports Act, thank you. Your voices are making a difference, and lawmakers are listening. Keep sharing your stories and help us get this across the finish line together.
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Tim Buckley retweeted
Lost in the whirlwind of eligibility suits was a notable NCAA win on Friday: a court agreed with the NCAA's argument on its c/o '22 5-in-5 exclusion. The NCAA's repeated position has been that the c/o '22 received everything they were promised under the old rule- 4 seasons of play- and that it's not unfair or arbitrary to exclude them from the new 5-in-5 rule. Most if not all courts have rejected that breach-of-contract defense until Friday, when Judge Miranda Du in Nevada federal court denied a former baseball player an injunction in Cruz v. NCAA. The key excerpt adopting the NCAA's argument is below. Interestingly, Judge Du also rejected Cruz's antitrust claim. She had previously granted an antitrust injunction in an athlete-favorable ruling (Braham) last summer. But in the year between, federal courts have overturned antitrust injunctions, which decisions show up in this new Cruz ruling.
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Tim Buckley retweeted
A judge denied college football players an injunction in a South Carolina eligibility case. Judges in Colorado, Nevada and New York have denied similar requests, while different athletes have won several other cases. It is creating inconsistencies. NCAA statement:
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