Protect College Sports Act passes Senate committee amid Big Ten, SEC opposition

The bipartisan Protect College Sports Act cleared the Senate Commerce Committee 19-9 Thursday, marking the first time a college sports reform bill has advanced this far in the Senate and setting up a potential vote before the August recess.

Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who co-authored the legislation with Sens. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), have been pushing to get this bill to President Trump’s desk this summer. Trump urged Congress in early June to pass it “this summer,” and Cruz said he wants it done before the fall season begins.

After Thursday’s vote, Cruz told reporters that Senate Majority Leader John Thune “intends” to bring the Protect College Sports Act to the Senate floor, and Cruz believes that will happen in July, according to Yahoo Sports. The Senate’s scheduled summer recess begins Aug. 10 to Sep. 11, which leaves a small window to reach the 60 votes needed for passage.

The bill would establish the first comprehensive federal framework for college athletics, incorporating NIL rights into law, replacing the current state-by-state one at the national level. It sets a five-year eligibility window from age 19 or high school graduation, guarantees athletes one transfer without losing eligibility and requires a second transfer to stay a year out of bounds, caps agent costs at 5% and gives athletes the private right to sue schools for NIL rights, health and safety standards and scholarship protection.

The biggest revenue game: an amendment to the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 that would allow schools to voluntarily band together and collectively negotiate their media rights, similar to the NFL model. Backers say that could bring in an additional $4 billion to $8 billion for college sports, with money supporters want directed toward women’s and Olympic sports. The bill also prevents the creation of a major conference, effectively blocking any potential SEC-Big Ten league.

More than 20 conferences, including the ACC and the Big 12, which represents 228 colleges in 46 states, have publicly supported the rule, along with the NFL, NFLPA, NBPA and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

“Today’s vote is a strong statement in increasing bipartisan support for Congress’s intended intervention to stabilize college sports transmission, eligibility and agent rules,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement. “The NCAA looks forward to building on these important improvements to pass a bill that works best for all 550,000 student-athletes.”

The Big Ten, the SEC has not yet entered

The two most powerful conferences in college football are still contested. In a joint statement released Thursday morning, the Big Ten and the SEC said that despite “ongoing discussions and good faith efforts,” their critical review of the bill was not accepted.

“From the outset, we have identified a set of critical revisions to the PCSA that are necessary for the long-term sustainability of college athletics,” the statement read. “We have worked with the majority and minority staff to advance those revisions, which are focused on better supporting student-athletes and stabilizing the college sports environment. We continue to believe revisions are necessary to ensure our support for the bill.”

The congressmen said they were “encouraged that several members of the Commerce Committee share our concerns” and pledged to continue to seek reform.

Their basis of opposition centered on the media merger provision, which SEC commissioner Greg Sankey warned could expose the SEC to lawsuits and effectively force the conference out of the College Football Playoff if schools that don’t join are not included in postseason play. The Big Ten has a major deal with CBS and FOX; the SEC is locked into an exclusive agreement with ESPN. The privacy right of action provision — which both conferences called too broad — also remained intact in the final version of the markup.

In a telephone interview with reporters, New York Yankees president Randy Levine, the leader of President Trump’s college sports committee, urged opponents of the bill to “go back to the tent with us and the Senate to solve all the problems that you have because this is the last, best effort. If this does not continue, there will be nothing forward…”

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), a former college football coach who spent 14 seasons in the SEC at Ole Miss and Auburn, took to the Senate floor Tuesday to announce his opposition.

“Two weeks ago, our colleagues here released a bipartisan bill that aims to address some of these issues,” Tuberville said. “I respect the work they’ve done. I know them very well. I know they’re trying to solve a very difficult and difficult problem. It’s almost impossible. But I think their bill goes too far.

“Trust me, if I thought it would work, I would support it. Unfortunately, it gets too much into the business of universities, conferences and athletic departments while doing very little to give the student-athlete the stability and clarity that, in fact, they need.”

What has changed are the amendments

The most important update ahead of Thursday’s qualifiers has strengthened the protection of non-profit sports and the Olympic Games. Under the amended bill, any Division I school that reports at least $80 billion in annual athletic revenue must maintain scholarship and roster levels for women’s sports and the Olympics at or above the 2024-25 levels. An earlier version applied that requirement only to schools that chose to consolidate media rights; the amendment extends to all high income programs regardless of opt-in.

The Chiefs also pushed for a language limit barring midseason coaching changes, a controversy sparked in part by the transfer of Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss to LSU while the Rebels were still alive in the College Football Playoff last season.

The bill now faces its biggest test. A Senate floor vote requires 60 votes in a chamber with 53 Republicans, making bipartisan support critical.