An enthusiastic sports fan who sponsored a Senate bill to establish interest-bearing funds to support women’s collegiate sports celebrated its final passage.
The Women’s Collegiate Sports Protection Act, SB 502, proposes the creation of permanent endowment funds where the principal remains untouched, ensuring a consistent revenue stream for scholarships, coaching, and facilities.
The bill received its final sign-off by lawmakers on Saturday, the final day of the regular legislative session.
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.
At one point, the bill had a mechanism where the state would offer tax credits to private donors to build the funds, but that was removed from the legislation earlier in the process to ensure it’s revenue neutral for the state.
Along its legislative journey, the legislation gained public support from members of Marshall University’s swimming and diving team, whose program has been canceled. Members of the team showed up in the House Education Committee to express their support for the bill.
Senator Jay Taylor, R-Taylor, is a softball enthusiast and the lead supporter of the bill.
“I’m super excited,” Taylor said on Saturday evening. “It’s a great day that it got through.”
He noted that the bill had been amended not just to be for higher level collegiate sports but to be open for all women’s collegiate sports programs in West Virginia.
Taylor’s big wish is for a women’s softball program at West Virginia University.
“I hope this does well, and if we can get this going well I think it’ll obviously be something that will be looked upon to say ‘Yeah, we can add women’s sports,'” Taylor said.
“I’m not saying that’s going to happen next week, next month or next year, but I think we’ve laid the groundwork here today.”