Senate Passes Protect College Sports Act 77-22: What It Means for UTSA and the American
College sports got a big push toward stability Monday night. The U.S. Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act (S. 4668) by a 77-22 vote. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) wrote the bipartisan bill, and CBS Sports reports it’s the first time either chamber of Congress has approved sweeping federal rules for college athletics.
What the bill does
According to CBS Sports, the bill would give the industry a limited antitrust exemption to enforce transfer and eligibility rules. Athletes could transfer once without sitting out, and the NCAA’s five-year eligibility clock would become law. Football coaches couldn’t leave for another job in the middle of a season. Agents would have to register, and their fees would be capped at 5%. The bill also bans a super league and stays neutral on whether athletes are employees.
The Texas Tribune adds that schools couldn’t stop athletes from signing NIL deals, and Division I conferences couldn’t reduce the number of varsity or Olympic sports their schools are required to sponsor.
The American and UTSA were on board early
The American Conference backed the bill back in June. Commissioner Tim Pernetti wrote to Cruz and Cantwell that it would help set “a framework for certainty and stability for all of college sports.” UTSA President Taylor Eighmy sent his own letter of support, calling athletics “a front porch to our university and our city” and writing that UTSA’s more than 400 student-athletes “stand to directly benefit if this legislation advances.”
After Monday’s vote, the American posted a statement thanking senators for “taking an important step forward for college sports.”
Why it matters for the Roadrunners
The biggest selling point for the American is the transfer portal. At media days in July, Pernetti said 78% of the league’s first- and second-team all-conference football players had transferred. “Our coaches are doing an incredible job of developing talent. I want to keep them in the league longer,” he said. He also said the bill’s NIL rules would “put an end to these sham pay-for-play deals.”
For a program like UTSA that develops its own players, one free transfer followed by guardrails and no midseason coaching moves could mean more stable rosters and staffs. How much it helps will depend on how the rules get enforced. The bill also lets conferences pool TV rights, but only if 75% of FBS schools agree, and CBS Sports calls that unlikely.
What’s next
The bill isn’t law yet. It still has to pass the House and be signed by President Trump, who supports it. The House isn’t scheduled to return until Nov. 9, and the bill dies if it isn’t law by Jan. 3, when the new Congress is sworn in. If the House changes the bill, it goes back to the Senate, CBS reports.
For now, the Senate did its part, and the American and UTSA were on board from the start. We’ll keep you posted as the House takes it up. Birds up!