Senate approves first procedural vote on Protect College Sports Act despite conference-expansion concerns
The Protect College Sports Act cleared its initial Senate vote with a 74-24 margin, but debate continues over a provision that would restrict schools from changing conferences.
The Senate voted 74-24 on Tuesday to advance the Protect College Sports Act, meeting the 60-vote threshold needed for the bill’s first procedural step. The legislation aims to overhaul several aspects of college athletics, including reinstating a one-time transfer exception, setting a five-year eligibility limit, increasing annual revenue-share payments to roughly $48 million per school, and creating a regulated agent certification system.
Lawmakers focused on a contentious clause, Section 205, which would cap power-conference membership at 19 schools and require any school that moves to another power league to operate as an independent for five years. Critics say the provision would lock schools such as Florida State, Miami, Clemson, North Carolina and Stanford into their current conferences.
Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell, the bill’s primary sponsors, were observed in a heated discussion with South Carolina senators Tim Scott and Darrell Graham over the expansion language. Cantwell told reporters, >"You saw a little bit of scramble there. We were down there really going at it."
Four Republican senators—Florida’s Ashley Moody and Rick Scott, Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville and Kentucky’s Rand Paul—voted against the measure, citing concerns about the conference-restriction clause. Cruz indicated that amendments to the provision are likely, and Cantwell suggested that any changes would need to balance conference stability with flexibility.
Supporters argue the bill provides needed guardrails for the college-sports industry, while opponents, including Senator Cory Booker, have called it an "unjust bill" that gives excessive antitrust power to the NCAA and limits athlete compensation.
The vote marks the furthest any comprehensive college-sports reform has progressed in the Senate. A final vote is expected next week, and proponents hope the House will take up the bill before the November midterm elections.