Correcting Opportunity and Accountability in Collegiate Hiring Act (COACH Act)

This bill, known as the Correcting Opportunity and Accountability in Collegiate Hiring Act (COACH Act), amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to impose limits on compensation for intercollegiate athletics department employees. As a condition for institutions to participate in federal student aid programs, the total annual compensation for any athletics employee, including coaches and athletic directors, cannot exceed ten times the institution's tuition and required fees for a first-time, full-time undergraduate student. The legislation specifies that all forms of compensation, including wages, bonuses, deferred compensation, and buyouts, count towards this cap, and buyouts themselves cannot cause the cap to be exceeded. Institutions must ensure compliance for compensation provided by affiliates like conferences or media-rights consortia, and are required to provide annual certification and public disclosure of their cap amount. Crucially, the bill includes a targeted antitrust safe harbor , protecting institutions and conferences from antitrust liability when adopting and enforcing these compensation limits.