Protect College Sports Act gets cryptic update

The NCAA is trying to get the U.S. Congress to help implement regulations on college sports. A bill that would do that, called the Protect College Sports Act, has been deliberated and worked on for months in Washington D.C. That legislation is getting a murky update, after the U.S. Senate failed to advance it on Friday.

“ICYMI, the Protect College Sports Act was not among the items the Senate voted on early this morning as the session ended,” The Athletic’s Ralph Russo posted to X, formerly Twitter.

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Washington Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell tried to get the bill to the Senate floor. It didn’t work and now the Senate will have to take it up again in the fall.

Cruz released a statement with Missouri Republican Senator Eric Schmitt following the news that the bill wouldn’t make it through. Both of them support the legislation.

“The Protect College Sports Act continues to show great momentum,” the senators said in a statement, per Yahoo Sports. “Sens. Cruz and Schmitt have worked tirelessly with the support of nearly every conference in the country, HBCUs and the Olympic sports committee. It’s clear that this bill is the only way to save college sports and women’s sports. With the strong support of President Trump, we look forward to him signing the bill on [ESPN] College GameDay in the fall.”

Not everyone shares that positivity. ESPN reporter Pete Thamel posted a cryptic message to X about the bill.

“That delays and perhaps dooms the bill. It could again emerge in Senate in September,” Thamel posted in part. “A long path remains, however.”

The Protect College Sports Act has been endorsed by President Donald Trump. Trump urged Congress to pass the legislation, in a statement he posted on social media.