Cruz, Cantwell advance college sports bill without SEC support

Are you ready for the next battle in college sports? As Brendan Sorsby officially leaves Texas Tech for the NFL, the spotlight now turns from the Lone Star State’s courtrooms to Washington, D.C., where lawmakers are debating the future of college athletics.

When Senators Ted Cruz (Republican of Texas) and Maria Cantwell (Democrat of Washington) introduced the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act earlier this month, the overwhelming thought process focused on the federal government introducing legislation that would satisfy both sides of the aisle, as well as those of college sports.

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But, as we’ve seen over the past few weeks, there’s a lot of pushback or arguing that has leaders in the SEC and Big Ten fighting for position.

Would congressional leaders give in to the ideas presented by the two conferences that would ultimately lead to their support? Or would Cruz and Cantwell advance their legislation without the leaders of both power conferences essentially throwing their support behind the bill?

That question was answered Monday night, when a revised bill was obtained by PK Press Club, as there wasn’t much of a pivot in the “Protect College Sports Act” that would lead one to believe that the SEC and Big Ten’s recommendations were fully incorporated into the new plan.

Senators move forward with no changes in the SEC and Big Ten

At the start of the “mark-up” phase of the bill, which begins Tuesday evening, there have been no deviations from the media pooling rights aspect of the legislation.

The revised version of the bill will still allow football teams at the FBS level to voluntarily consolidate their media rights into one package, if 75 percent of the teams reach an agreement on the action.

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That leaves the SEC and Big Ten still in power on the issue, with Commissioner Greg Sankey mentioning in a letter to presidents and chancellors last week that it could still lead to courtroom battles.

“Media pooling, as written, exposes the SEC to possible lawsuits forcing the conference to adopt the practice of media pooling… This requires the SEC and Big Ten to either play intra-conference postseason tournaments or play only other conferences or universities without pooling in the postseason to replace the CFP (College Football Playoff)”

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)

Yes, it’s a delay for both conferences to support this aspect of the bill, even though it wouldn’t be the wisest move for either to break off and form their own playoffs, at least in the eyes of fans.

Then there was also a point of contention around the “private right of action” aspect of the legislation, which would allow athletes to sue their own schools over rules that could be actionable under the bill. And for this part, the legislation does not provide review for the section in which the SEC pointed out that it is too broad, giving rise to more battles in state courts.

An essential detour for Olympic and women’s sports in legislation

But there has been a change in the law that many in the college sports community have been vocal about. In the previous version of the bill, Olympic and women’s sports were tied to those who chose to consolidate their media rights into one group. Essentially, schools couldn’t cut certain sports on a whim for revenue reasons.

Now, all schools that report revenue of at least $80 million per school year will be required under the bill to maintain a minimum number of roster spots for each sport, which also gives peace of mind to athletic programs that fall into the “large” category. Like when Arkansas decided to cut its tennis program last month, which was then resurrected by donors coming to its rescue at the last minute to keep the sport alive in Fayetteville.

Big Ten Conference Commissioner Tony Petitti speaks during the 2025 Big Ten Football Media Days at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 22, 2025. (Louis Grasse/Getty Images)

It’s obvious that lawmakers aren’t worried about appeasing SEC and Big Ten member institutions in hopes of passing this bill. In reality, you’re not going to make everyone happy, so the idea of ​​giving in to the demands of college sports’ two largest conferences is clearly not an obstacle at the moment.

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Of course, this could change in the coming days, as the amendments are voted on. But that would mean shaking things up with congressional leaders from states outside the boundaries of the SEC and Big Ten. Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell want this bill to pass and even received vocal support from NCAA President Charlie Baker last week amid the debate over Brendan Sorsby.

There will be a lot of debate over the next few weeks, as well as a lot of negotiation about what could be added or subtracted from the bill to get this bill taken out of debate in the Senate and into the House.

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But time is running out. Congressional recess is approaching in August, and we’re about to find out just how much power two of college athletics’ largest conferences have when it comes to federal legislation.

And there you have it, the “Protect College Sports Act” is officially on the clock.