Senator Jay Taylor, who is active with youth softball programs in his community, is swinging for legislation to create permanent endowment funds intended to support women’s sports.
Over time, the funds are meant to represent a consistent revenue stream for scholarships, coaching, and facilities.
The Senate Education Committee discussed and advanced The Women’s Collegiate Sports Protection Act, SB 502, on Thursday morning. The bill now goes to the Senate Finance Committee for further consideration.
West Virginia University, in a statement, expressed support for the bill, “which creates an optional endowment fund and is an important next step in helping to ensure women’s collegiate Olympic sports programs are available to our student-athletes in the rapidly changing NIL landscape.
“Last year, the Legislature passed two bills to support college athletics in West Virginia — the NIL Protection Act and the Athletics Nonprofit Act. Like those bills, SB 502 will help WVU continue to compete.”
Inspiration for the bill came from Taylor’s wish for West Virginia University to field a softball team. The Big 12 is a powerhouse softball conference, frequently producing national championship contenders and premier talent.
But WVU, a member of the league in other sports, does not have softball.
Taylor, a softball fan and coach, has long wanted to change that.
“Even before I was a senator, I had been kind of bugging, asking, getting something going,” said Taylor, a Republican from Taylor County.
Last summer, Taylor said, he raised the issue with WVU leaders and raised the issue of a five-year plan toward a softball team. The idea that arose was bigger than that — a platform to help women’s sports more broadly.
“This is laying the foundation,” Taylor said in an interview ahead of a Senate floor session on Thursday.
Although Taylor’s special focus is softball, the bill is meant more generally to support women’s collegiate Olympic sports. And although West Virginia University has been involved with discussions about the bill, its framework could be used to benefit other colleges in the state.
Overall, the bill aims to shield collegiate women’s sports from market volatility and shifting funding priorities through a blend of private investment and whatever might be available through administrative savings.
The bill proposes the creation of permanent endowment funds where the principal remains untouched, ensuring a consistent revenue stream for scholarships, coaching, and facilities.
To build the funds, the state would offer tax credits to private donors and provide matching government contributions if money can be saved in other areas.
Earnings from a women’s athletics endowment may be used only for scholarships, coaching and training staff, equipment, facilities, travel, and other expenses directly related to women’s collegiate Olympic sports programs.
Senator Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia, is another of the sponsors of the bill and spoke in favor of it during the Thursday education committee meeting.
“As I understand the bill, it doesn’t create a financial obligation on the state. It just creates a fund where interest could be raised, dollars could be earned and that interest could be spent to support collegiate women’s athletics,” Oliverio said.
“And for that reason, I am very much in favor of the effort.”