Senate advances Protect College Sports Act with softened realignment rules

The U.S. Senate voted 77-22 on Thursday to advance the Protect College Sports Act, which now includes a six-year window that lets schools leave a power conference without a mandatory waiting period. The revised language reduces the earlier five-year probationary requirement to three years for schools moving from a conference that generates less than $700 million in annual revenue, and eliminates the buffer entirely after six years.

The bill also retains a $22.5 million retention fund for schools that meet graduation-rate and academic-progress benchmarks, and keeps a revenue-sharing cap of $21.6 million for the 2026-27 academic year. A provision that bars private-equity investors from purchasing power-conference schools for a breakaway league remains unchanged, with a five-year restriction on any school that departs the SEC.

If enacted, the six-year realignment clause would expire around 2032-33, coinciding with the expiration of major media-rights contracts for the Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and other conferences. Lawmakers noted that the timing could influence negotiations for upcoming television deals and postseason events such as the College Football Playoff and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Additional updates to the legislation narrow the scope of state-law preemption to four areas—student status, academic requirements, professional status and years of eligibility—while allowing states to retain authority over drug testing, gambling and campus conduct rules. The bill also streamlines the process for lawsuits involving physical injury, death, or sexual misconduct, removing the prior requirement for a 30-day notice period.

A newly created congressional commission will study whether athletes should be permitted to hold a financial stake in their programs, and its safety review will examine injury and death reporting standards.