Sen. Ted Cruz has called the Protect College Sports Act the "last, best hope" for federal legislation. Heather Diehl / Getty ImagesJuly 23, 2026 Updated 7:06 pm EDTSenate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Thursday the Protect College Sports Act is not likely to reach the floor for a vote before the session ends in two weeks.The bipartisan bill introduced in May by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) addresses a wide range of issues in college sports, from eligibility and transfer rules to regulations for compensating players.The bill, which advanced out of committee last month, has drawn support from the NCAA and many Division I conferences, but not the Big Ten and SEC, the wealthiest and most powerful leagues. Advancing through committee markup is the furthest a college sports bill has made it in Congress; a House bill called the SCORE Act advanced through committee last year but never got to the floor for a vote.Big Ten and SEC officials have been working with Cruz, Cantwell and other co-sponsors in recent weeks to modify the bill. The two conferences have a variety of issues with the bill, including spending limits it would impose on player compensation and restrictions on conference expansion.Lawmakers have said there has been some progress on those negotiations, but the bigger issue appears to be the legislative calendar. The Senate has only two weeks left in the session before going on summer recess starting Aug. 8.Cruz and Cantwell need 60 votes to pass the bill, but to get it to the floor, leadership would like to see robust support. Right now, that doesn’t exist. Stakeholders were working to bring the bill for a full Senate vote prior to the August recess in hopes of then passing it through the House and sending it to President Donald Trump to be signed into law this fall before the November midterm elections. Trump and the White House, which hosted a presidential roundtable on college sports in March, are supportive of the Protect College Sports Act, but the midterm elections represent a de facto deadline.The closer it gets to the midterms, the less likely it is that any legislation will pass through Congress, especially a bipartisan bill.This story will be updated.