College sports bill passes Senate committee despite pushback from SEC, Big Ten

In a historic moment for the Senate Commerce Committee, the Protecting College Sports Act now moves to a full vote that has already begun lobbying.

As leaders across college sports watched from afar, the Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) held court Thursday in a markup session that ultimately took aim at those in the SEC and Big Ten conferences who opposed the bill in its current form.

“What we did today was say we’re not going to let the most powerful and richest conferences dictate to the rest of America what’s going to happen to 500,000 athletes,” Cantwell said after a 19-9 vote.

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Many leagues supported the bill, while those representing athletes opposed it.

But getting support from stakeholders in the Big Ten and SEC is clearly not an aspect of this process that worries Cantwell and Cruz.

Let the lobbying continue, while the opposition stands firm

On Thursday morning, the SEC and Big Ten released a joint statement on the legislation, making clear they disagreed in supporting it.

“From the outset, we identified a set of critical revisions to the PCSA necessary for the long-term sustainability of college athletics,” both conferences noted. “We have worked with majority and minority staff to advance these revisions, which are intended to better support student-athletes and stabilize the college athletic environment. We continue to believe that revisions are necessary to ensure our support for the bill.

“Despite our continued engagement and good faith efforts, these critical revisions have not been accepted. We are encouraged that several members of the Commerce Committee share our concerns and support these recommendations.”

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SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks during a panel discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House on March 6, 2026, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick looks on. The Trump administration hosted the event titled “Saving College Sports” with leaders from the Power Four conferences, media officials and former coaches. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

For the first time ever, a college sports bill has been put to a committee vote that will now send it to the floor for possible historic passage.

“No one got everything they wanted. But we created a framework that stabilizes college athletics,” Cruz noted Thursday.

As for the SEC and Big Ten’s opposition to the bill, it comes down to a number of different issues, including “voluntary” pooling of media rights. Additionally, the legislation targets the two to potentially form a “Super League”. But during a concession Wednesday night, that changed.

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The bill’s anti-expansion provision now includes the Big 12 and the ACC, with senators changing language that now includes conferences that bring in $700 million in revenue from not being allowed to unite forces like the Avengers. This is a decrease from the $1 billion previously proposed in the bill.

There will still be opposition from college athletics’ two largest conferences, but Sen. Cantwell made clear Thursday that they won’t be deterred from pursuing it, even if the SEC and Big Ten object.

What’s next for the Protect College Sports Act? A Senate vote

Will this ultimately work? Potentially, but there will be a lot of lobbying over the next month that could ultimately change the trajectory of this legislation. Many questions remain to be discussed.

But a number of changes were also made to the new revised legislation this week.

Olympic and women’s sports have been separated from the media rights pooling provision, which now exists in its own right. This would set a minimum limit on scholarship and roster size, which would not be tied to revenue generated from television deals.

Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Mark Meador greets Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., ranking member of the committee, during a hearing titled “Oversight of the Federal Trade Commission” in Washington, DC, April 15, 2026. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)

Before its revision, these necessary protections would only be implemented if media rights were effectively consolidated.

As we have emphasized several times in recent weeks, this bill will face resistance on several fronts. There are provisions in the legislation that limit player remuneration and transfer ability.

Given this, opponents of the bill are already preparing lawmakers for an increase in lawsuits that could arise if you tried to put a specific guardrail around player movement.

Additionally, many people have opposed unions that oppose collective bargaining for student-athletes.

Regardless, Thursday’s vote was historic in the current era of college athletics. For years, the House tried to pass the SCORE Act but failed repeatedly, ultimately resulting in the legislation failing to come up for a vote.

Today, as the Senate Commerce Committee opens up the possibility that the College Sports Protection Act will be voted on in the Senate, this college athletics bill has essentially passed the historic point.

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But with 50 days until Congress’ summer recess, time is running out for Senate Majority Leader John Thune to put the issue to a vote. Will Cruz and Cantwell be able to muster enough support for this to pass?

Ultimately, this is just part of this process, while the House waits.