(NewsNation) — Now that student athletes are able to get paid through name, image and likeness deals, Congress has been trying to figure out how best to legislate the matter.

Jill Bodensteiner, athletic director at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, testified before a Senate committee hearing this week and said Thursday on “The Hill on NewsNation” that her main message to Congress was “help us with NIL.”

“I think we have a football problem,” Bodensteiner said.

Congress has held a series of hearings since 2020 focused on the state of college athletics, which are governed by the NCAA.

NCAA President Charlie Baker told the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Tuesday hearing that college sports are “overdue for change” and touted recent reforms by the NCAA, including more long-term health insurance for athletes, degree completion funds for up to 10 years and scholarship protections.

Baker, his predecessor, Mark Emmert and other college sports leaders have been lobbying Congress for help with a federal law to regulate NIL compensation since before the NCAA lifted its ban on NIL payments to athletes in 2021. Several bills have been introduced or made public, including a few bipartisan efforts in recent months, but nothing has gained traction despite what many have referred to as an untenable situation.

“Utah is offering everybody on the team a new truck,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “Between the (transfer) portal and NIL, college football is in absolute chaos.”

But for colleges like St. Joseph’s University, Bodensteiner told NewsNation the problems in college sports are only impacting a small part of athletics.

“My point to the committee was, you know, Oregon football and USC football and Caleb Williams are very different than my track athlete, who you know, is getting his education paid for,” Bodensteiner said. “At the end of the day … this isn’t broken for all of us.”

Outside of NIL, colleges are also facing legal threats that could upend the collegiate model. An antitrust case could force schools and conferences that compete at the highest levels of the NCAA into professional sports-style revenue sharing of billions of dollars in media rights with football and basketball players.

Athletes at some universities have also expressed favor in collective bargaining.

Ramogi Huma, a longtime advocate for college athletes, conceded at the Senate hearing that only major college football and basketball players should be considered for employment status.

Former Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Penn., said on NewsNation’s “The Hill” it’s clear that schools need “federal guidance” on NIL.

“Congress does have to get involved. You don’t want 50 different standards for name, image and likeness,” Dent said. “I think it would be an enormous problem.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.