Last week, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.) introduced a sweeping, 111-page bill on college sports called the Protect College Sports Act. Sens. Eric Schmitt (R., Mo.) and Chris Coons (D., Del.) also signed onto the bill.
Because the legislation, born from years of negotiations led by Cruz, is bipartisan, it’s the most likely bill to pass of all college sports legislation. The Commerce Committee will hold its first hearing on the bill on Wednesday, with the goal of getting it passed by the August recess.
The bill has the formal support of the Big 12, ACC, and the American conference, as well many college sports stakeholders tasked by President Trump to lead policy conversations on the issue, like Texas Tech university board chairman Cody Campbell. But on the eve of the hearing, it’s unclear whether some of college sports’ other biggest stakeholders—namely, the Big Ten, SEC, and NCAA—will endorse it.
Still Undecided
Over the past several years, the Big Ten, SEC, and NCAA (in addition to the Big 12 and ACC) have spent several years and millions of dollars lobbying in Congress for a favorable college sports bill. Their priorities: antitrust protections to set and enforce rules around athlete compensation, transfers, and eligibility; and that prevents state laws from pre-empting these rules.
