AB 1034 provides clarity around NIL policies, offers limited financial flexibility tied to existing athletic facility obligations, and ensures that Wisconsin Athletics can compete on equal footing.

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• Wisconsin’s Assembly Bill 1034 aims to modernize state law to reflect new NCAA rules on athlete compensation.
• The bill would relieve several state universities of $15 million in athletic facility debt to reinvest in athletic programs.
• Proponents argue the legislation is necessary for Wisconsin universities to compete with peer institutions in other states.
• Wisconsin athletics reportedly generate over $750 million in statewide economic impact annually.

Let me put my bias, or experience up front. I was a student athlete at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was fortunate to have one of my sons graduate as a far better student athlete.

I am writing in support of Assembly Bill 1034, which modernizes Wisconsin law to reflect the realities of today’s college athletic landscape, not because of those past “glory days,” but because college athletics has changed more in the past three years than in the previous three decades.  

New national rules now see universities sharing millions of dollars annually with student-athletes through revenue sharing and name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities. Other states have responded quickly, updating their laws to ensure they can compete in this new environment.

Making sure Wisconsin doesn’t fall behind

The State Assembly, with overwhelming bipartisan support, passed AB 1034, now it’s up to the Wisconsin State Senate to pass this legislation and send it quickly to Gov. Tony Evers to ensure Wisconsin doesn’t fall behind.

AB 1034 provides clarity around NIL policies, offers limited financial flexibility tied to existing athletic facility obligations, and ensures that Wisconsin Athletics can compete on equal footing with peer institutions across the country. In a measured way, the bill would relieve UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, and UW-Green Bay of $15 million of debt related to athletic facilities with the expressed purpose that those dollars would instead be used to invest in athletic programs.

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This legislation is critical for two inter-connected reasons, competition and economic impact.

At a recent capitol hearing, UW-Madison Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh explained that 80 percent of the entire athletic department budget is generated by the football program. That revenue underwrites the competitive commitment to the other 11 men’s and 12 women’s varsity teams, supporting some 600 student athletes.

The capacity for this to continue is threatened by $20 million in new annual name and likeness costs that impact all NCAA schools. An expense that will continue to rise.  In addition, peer institutions in the Big Ten and across the country are committing substantial additional resources to these NIL efforts. In short, without this debt support, the university and its athletes will not only lose an even playing field, they may lose the ability to get on the field.  

This threat from the changing nature of NCAA athletics also poses a threat to the economic impact from college athletics. A recent study found that nearly 2 million visitors came to campus events annually, generating more than $750M in statewide economic impact from Wisconsin athletics. Case in point, each home football game produces a $19M economic impact, with 5,600 jobs in the state tied directly or indirectly to the department’s activities.  

This bipartisan legislation is not about propping up a single sport. It’s about protecting broad based opportunities for all our student-athletes, some of whom we just watched win a gold medal for the U.S. women’s’ hockey team.

Athletics are often noted as the front door to the university, but I would broaden that opening to the State of Wisconsin. Our public university system success strengthens enrollment, attracts the talent that drives our prosperity, and serves as a sustaining way forward for our economy.

Bill provides measured and responsible investment

As the former head of one of our state’s largest business groups, I have spent much of my career engaged in economic development. I know what generates “return on investment.” AB 1034 provides a measured and responsible investment that will generate a positive impact for Wisconsin taxpayers, citizens, and employers.

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NCAA athletics has changed, and Wisconsin must change with it, or sit on the sidelines. So let’s encourage the Wisconsin State Senate to pass AB 1034 and put Wisconsin in position to compete on the field which provides a win for our student athletes and all of us who benefit from a world class university system.

Tim Sheehy is a UW-Madison graduate and former student athlete. Sheehy served as the president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce for more than 30 years where he oversaw economic development and business attraction for the region.

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – The United States launched airstrikes in Iran on Wednesday, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and prompting fast reactions from across northeast Wisconsin.

In Appleton, over a dozen of protesters came together at Houdini Plaza, protesting the strikes and calling for peace, and in Green Bay, protesters lined the streets with signs condemning the strikes.

One protester we spoke with said the strikes were not about the nuclear protest, but for a regime change.

“All I could think of is WMDs that got us the last war in the Middle East, and it was just a lot of bunk, and the other thing is he said is he’s trying to overthrow the current regime,” said John Cuff of Appleton.

Area lawmakers are also reacting to the attacks in Iran.

Senator Tammy Baldwin released a statement following President Trump’s announcement of the strikes, saying: “My whole career, I have been steadfast in the belief that doing the hard work of diplomacy is the answer, not war. I believed that when I voted against a war in Iraq and I believe it today. Iran poses a real threat and one we need to take head on, but getting into another endless war is not the answer.

“President Trump illegally bombed Iran, totally disregarding the Constitution, putting American troops in harm’s way, and starting another war in the Middle East with no end in sight. The Constitution is clear: if the President wants to start a war, Congress – elected by the people – needs to sign off on it. The Senate needs to come back immediately to vote on this President’s senseless and illegal bombings– I know where I stand.

“Have we learned nothing from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Doubling down with another open-ended war without realistic goals or a strategy to win is not only foolish, but also recklessly puts Wisconsin’s sons and daughters at risk.

“President Trump pledged to the American people that he would not get involved in another foreign war, and this is yet another broken promise from this President. The President needs to listen to the people he represents: Americans want fewer foreign wars and more focus on them and their everyday struggles.”

Representative Tom Tiffany also released a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying: “My thoughts are with the brave U.S. forces carrying out these precision strikes and with the safety of American personnel in the region.”

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