Big Ten, SEC push back on Protect College Sports Act ahead of hearing

WASHINGTON - After yearslong efforts by college sports leaders for federal legislation, a bipartisan Senate proposal to regulate student-athlete compensation, transfers and coaching turnover is heading to its first hearing - but not without resistance from the two most powerful conferences.

The Big Ten and Southeastern Conference said Tuesday they do not support the Protect College Sports Act as currently drafted, underscoring the competing interests surrounding a measure introduced by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Ted Cruz, R-Tex., to establish national rules for college athletics.

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The legislation would regulate payments to players, limit coach movement and enforce caps on agent fees in an effort to stabilize the multibillion-dollar industry that has contended with numerous legal challenges and been transformed by student-athlete compensation and player movement via the transfer portal in recent years.

We are committed to working with Senators Cruz and Cantwell and other members of Congress to improve this legislation," the conferences said in a joint statement, "so that it can provide lasting stability for college athletics."

The 111-page bill introduced last week is set for its first hearing on Wednesday, before the commerce committee, where several witnesses, including seven-time football championship winning coach Nick Saban, Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould and Lance Holtzclaw, a former UW football player who currently plays at Utah, are slated to testify.

"We're seeing thousands of men's and women's athletic roster slots and a hundred athletic programs being cut," Cantwell said in a statement. "Collegiate athletics is a hallmark for human development. Let's not ruin it with out-of-control chaos."

Cantwell and Cruz, the ranking member and chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, respectively, negotiated the sweeping legislation for months amid a yearslong push by college sports leaders to secure federal rules as the industry saw dramatic change.

The bill comes after other attempts to pass college sports bills fell flat, including the House Republican-backed SCORE Act and Cantwell's SAFE Act, introduced last year. The Protect College Sports Act combines provisions from both proposals.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that the college sports industry is not exempt from antitrust laws; the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the organization that oversees athletic programs at colleges and universities across the United States, has since pushed Congress for new federal laws.

The new proposal would provide a limited antitrust exception for the NCAA, shielding it from some legal challenges so that it can enforce standards the legislation would set in place. It would bar midseason coaching changes, allow student-athletes one unrestricted transfer during their college careers and caps agent fees at 5% of a contract's value.

It would also establish a federal right for student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness - preempting the current patchwork of state laws governing athletic compensation.

The proposed act would also create a bipartisan commission to study the future of college athletics, including compensation, Olympic and women's sports, spending limits, agent rules, health and safety.

"College sports are at a breaking point," Cruz said in a statement. "Fans can see their favorite teams being hollowed out by transfer chaos, fake [name, image and likeness] bidding wars, eligibility lawsuits and a system that allows the richest programs to keep pulling away."

"The Protect College Sports Act is a bipartisan plan to restore order," Cruz said. "Student athletes can profit from their name, image, and likeness, but college sports still needs real rules, competitive balance, rivalries, and a true connection to education."

The bill still has a lengthy journey through Congress as competing interests weigh in on the vast legislation.

The Big Ten, which the University of Washington joined in 2024, and the SEC pushed back on the legislation the night before its scheduled hearing.

"While we appreciate the leadership of Senators Cruz and Cantwell in pursuing these shared goals, we do not support the Protect College Sports Act as drafted," the conferences said.

They said the bill fails to solve several key problems, like adequately overriding the growing mix of state laws or providing enough authority to create and enforce uniform national rules, both of which they said they view as necessary for stability in college sports. They contend it would likely increase lawsuits because it lacks a clear system for resolving disputes.

"It also shifts ongoing rulemaking to Congress, limiting the ability to adapt quickly as the landscape evolves," the statement read.

In response to the pushback on the eve of the hearing, the Senate Commerce Committee majority said in a statement that action by Congress is needed urgently to avoid lasting and more pervasive impacts.

"We look forward to receiving constructive feedback from both conferences, but it's vital that Congress fixes the court-induced chaos now rather than allow litigation, NIL bidding wars, and Power 2 consolidation to further destabilize college sports," the statement read.

After the bill's initial committee hearing, it will need to undergo a committee markup, which has not yet been scheduled, before hitting the Senate floor for a vote.

Meanwhile, university leaders are watching closely.

"We are grateful to Senators Cantwell and Cruz for their bipartisan leadership on issues impacting college athletics and student-athlete well-being," University of Washington President Robert J. Jones said in a statement.

Jones stopped short of endorsing or criticizing the proposal.

"As we review the proposal, we appreciate efforts to create greater stability while reinforcing priorities that have long been central to the University of Washington, including academic achievement, student support and overall student-athlete welfare."

"We look forward to continued engagement and dialogue as the legislation advances, Jones added.

Anumita Kaur reported from Washington, D.C., and Andy Yamashita reported from Seattle.

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 11:43 PM.