Source: No vote on college sports bill expected before August - ESPN

An expansive federal bill aimed at reshaping how college sports are governed is not expected to be put to a full vote in the U.S. Senate before Congress takes its August recess, a congressional source told ESPN on Thursday.

The Protect College Sports Act, a 100-plus-page piece of legislation that would create an antitrust exemption for the NCAA to enforce spending caps, transfer rules and eligibility limits in college sports, was voted out of the Senate Commerce Committee in June with hopes of making it through the full Senate by the end of the summer.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, one of the bill's co-authors, has called it the «last, best hope» for a college sports-related law after years of schools, conferences and the NCAA lobbying for help. But without a Senate vote in early August, the bill faces a very small window of opportunity to get through Congress prior to November's elections.

College sports leaders have been asking for help from Congress since a Supreme Court decision in 2021 made clear that schools could not collude to limit the earning potential of college athletes. That decision, coupled with state laws that forced the NCAA to allow athletes to make money via name, image and likeness deals, sparked an onslaught of legal challenges that have made it difficult for the association to enforce many of its rules.

Despite wanting a new law, the two most powerful conferences, the SEC and Big Ten, opposed the bill as written because they believe several provisions unfairly targeted their leagues. Cruz and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., met with college sports officials in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss changes to the bill. Their staffs are continuing to meet to tweak language, according to a congressional aide.