A North Carolina House committee on Wednesday advanced a measure that would allow UNC System schools to keep their athletic revenue-sharing agreements confidential.
Under a newly revised Senate Bill 229, schools would not have to disclose their overall revenue-sharing budgets, allocations by team, or payments to individual athletes under public records laws.
Under new revenue-sharing rules, universities could spend up to $20.5 million this year paying athletes. UNC-Chapel Hill said last year, for example, that $13 million would go to football, $7 million to men’s basketball, and $250,000 each to baseball and women’s basketball.
An earlier version of the bill sought to exempt name, image, and likeness contracts from public disclosure, but lawmakers included that in a separate measure enacted last year. The new version the House panel advanced Wednesday also makes a number of other changes for college athletics.
SB 229 would allow alcohol sales outside of stadiums for up to six hours before an event and three hours after an event.
The bill also would exempt UNC System institutions from current limitations on raffles. Under state law, nonprofit organizations, candidates, political committees, and governmental entities can hold up to five raffles a year, with a $250,000 maximum value on all raffle prizes per year. The new measure would scrap those restrictions for UNC schools.
Republicans pushing for the bill argue it is necessary to make North Carolina colleges more competitive in recruiting athletes, while transparency advocates say it does a disservice to the public.
The bill goes next to the House Rules Committee. If it becomes law, it would take effect starting with the 2026-2027 academic year.