CLEMSON — Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz is very familiar with Clemson Athletics. It is one reason why he wanted to become the university’s new president, which he did on Wednesday thanks to a unanimous vote from the Clemson Board of Trustees.

“I am a huge supporter of collegiate athletics. It offers so much,” Guskiewicz said. “People will say it is the front porch to any university. I will say it is one of several avenues into a university, and my goal will continue to have a strong foundation in athletics with strong programs and facilities.”

Guskiewicz plans to meet with Clemson Athletic Director Graham Neff and the Clemson coaches in the days and weeks to come as he makes his move from Michigan State, his old school, to Clemson.

Of course, Guskiewicz’s top priority in athletics is helping the Clemson programs have what they need to compete at the highest level. The problem is no one knows exactly what that is and what it is going to take to get it done.

Clemson has not adjusted well to the new world of intercollegiate athletics, as the transfer portal, NIL and revenue sharing have changed the way the games are played, sort of speak.

“The landscape of intercollegiate athletics is changing by the week and changing by the month,” Guskiewicz said.

The latest is the Protect the College Sports Act, which was presented by U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). The bill is a bipartisan legislation to restore stability to college sports.

“We will see where that goes,” Guskiewicz said. “There is a lot of debate among the Power Four about the value of that and I want to get my feet on the ground there with the team and get some time with the coaches and Graham Neff to sort of better understand what our positioning might be regrading that.”

The Protect College Sports Act would restore order in college athletics by creating enforceable national rules, preserving fair competition, protecting student athletes, and ensuring fans do not lose the teams, rivalries, and traditions they love. 

Additionally, the bill would end the chaos by bringing stability to transfers, eligibility, recruiting, tampering, and real Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights for athletes; protect student athletes without turning college sports into professional sports; preserve fans’ favorite games and traditions; make TV money work for college sports; and restore competitive balance to ensure all schools, not just the blue bloods, can compete. 

“At some point, congress has to jump in and do something,” Guskiewicz said. “I am not going to say precisely what that something is, but there needs to be some guardrails. There needs to be a way to level the playing field to some extent because the average person says this is getting out of control.”

And it is.

Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti said in an article in USA TODAY earlier this week that the cost of player compensation is getting “scary” and if something is not done in the next 12 to 24 months, it could threaten to destroy college football as it currently exists. Though he believes players should be paid, he said the rising cost to pay the athletes is getting out of hand because there are regulations in place.

“We sit at the table of the presidents and chancellors’ councils in each of the conferences and there is only so much we can do,” Guskiewicz said. “We have to control the controllables and then we have to have some help from congress and also more of a partnership across the four [power] conferences to try and get this right.

“That is what I hope will happen. But, as I said, the landscape seems to change too frequently.”

When he was the Chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Guskiewicz served on the ACC’s Board of Presidents and Chancellors and did the same for the Big Ten when he was at Michigan State.

“I learned a lot there. I might able to bring some ideas of what we might be able to bring to the ACC,” Guskiewicz said. “(ACC Commissioner) Jim Phillips is a great friend. He is in a tough position right now, but he is a great commissioner that is leading the ACC and I look forward to working alongside him.”

The Protect College Sports Act is legislation that includes NIL protections, athlete-agent rules, NIL disclosure standards, academic and scholarship protections, student athlete medical coverage, health and safety standards, the establishment of an official student athlete ombudsman, transfer and eligibility rules, prohibited compensation and cap-evasion provisions, recruitment and tampering rules, legal certainty for covered enforcement, preemption of conflicting state rules, and neutrality on employment status. 

The broadcast and media title creates a conditional framework for voluntary pooled media rights, local access to broadcast games, rivalry preservation, women’s and Olympic-sport protections, anti-consolidation guardrails, and use-it-or-lose-it non-football/non-basketball media rights.

A committee announcement regarding an upcoming hearing on the legislation is forthcoming.