Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville during a game against Tennessee in 2004. (SI via Getty)
"Until there is some level of uniformity across the board, states will need to do whatever they can to ensure their colleges and universities are in a position to succeed," Lovvorn said. "I hope this situation serves as another reminder to Congress and the NCAA that national standards governing NIL and the transfer portal are needed sooner rather than later."
Just across the Chattahoochee River, Georgia lawmakers are continuing to pursue their legislation, with one noted Dawgs-fan lawmaker saying he was happy to see the state’s Saturday rival follow suit.
State Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, quipped that college football is a "religion" in the Southeast, particularly among the SEC schools.
"As far as the athletes being paid, the genie is out of the bottle… We just need to make sure we have some guardrails or something and so on in place to make sure that it's just not the Wild, Wild West. And that's what's going on right now," said Beach, who is leading Georgia’s version of the legislation.
MIGRANT CONTROVERSY HITS HEARTLAND AS ALABAMA COUNCIL MEETING BOILS OVER
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer. (Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images)
A prominent constituent of Lovvorn’s who spent years as the face of the Tigers’ front office said that federal lawmakers are indeed looking to bring about the clarity and consistency that state officials have asked for.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who engineered 80 wins in his decade as Auburn’s coach, quipped that the idea of tax-free NIL money makes him want to go back and work his way through the collegiate system again as a player.
"A lot of these kids make a lot of money," Tuberville said, adding that while he does not want to interfere with state legislators, he and Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ted Cruz of Texas have been trying to "make all 50 states the same."
Tuberville said there should not be an advantage for one state over the other, and that if action is not taken on NIL, "you’re going to lose a lot of sports and it’s just unfortunate."
He noted the importance college sports play in training U.S. Olympians, and suggested the issue needs legislative clarity before the games come to Los Angeles in a few years.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
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