Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban wanted to make something clear to the group of senators he faced Wednesday on Capitol Hill. “I really want everybody to know I’m not here to represent a conference or a team,” he said, “but to preserve college athletics as a whole.”
Saban was testifying in favor of the Protect College Sports Act, a sweeping bipartisan bill introduced last week, and wanted to underscore his stance given that his old conference, the SEC, and therefore his old school of Alabama (that’s still paying him), has come out against it.
The moment—inconceivable even a few weeks ago—was emblematic of the new reality in college sports. Before, the alliances in college sports regarding federal legislation were relatively simple. But in response to the Protect College Sports Act, a group of new and unexpected fractures have emerged: the Power 4 has split, and athlete advocacy groups are aligning with conferences they were previously opposed to. The phenomenon was on display Wednesday in Washington.
“My colleagues probably know that there are probably 25 things that Sen. Cruz and I don’t agree on, and that’s just in this committee,” Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.) said during the hearing. “So, saying that it is an accomplishment for him and I to agree on this is saying something.”
