College Sports Bill Delayed Until September

The Protect College Sports Act failed to reach a Senate vote during an all-night pre-recess session that ended early Saturday, though Majority Leader John Thune scheduled it for consideration next month after the chamber returns from summer break.

The bipartisan measure aims to place guardrails on the escalating spending spree in college sports as the industry adapts to a model allowing teams to pay players. 

“College sports is something that needs to be fixed. They have a good solution,” said Thune, R-S.D. “We got it teed up for next month.”

Co-sponsor Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he and colleagues “have worked hard to end the chaos” surrounding the sport and predicted support from 60 or more senators. Co-sponsor Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., thanked Thune for the calendar placement and said the bill “is how we protect women’s and Olympic sports,” expressing hope for passage in September.

Introduced in late May, the bill initially lacked support from the Big Ten and SEC. Those conferences later signed on after negotiations late last month, briefly reviving it. It then faced skepticism from SEC-state lawmakers including Sens. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo. Opposition also came from the Congressional Black Caucus and AFL-CIO, while unrelated amendments surfaced.

A crowded agenda—including a short-term funding bill and the narrow confirmation of Todd Blanche as attorney general—pushed the Protect College Sports Act toward the back of the queue.

Even if it clears the Senate, the bill faces a steep path in the more narrowly divided House, which repeatedly failed to advance the less athlete-friendly SCORE Act.