'Protect College Sports Act' could get final vote in Senate soon

TEXAS - Texas Senator Ted Cruz has co-sponsored the "Protect College Sports Act."

On Thursday, he explained why he is confident the bill will not get sacked on Capitol Hill. 

What is the "Protect College Sports Act?"

What they're saying:

The Senate moved the bill earlier this week to a final vote in the Senate chamber.

"We have gotten, at this point, 78 senators. To support the Protect College Sports Act. It is an incredibly broad coalition. And there's a reason for that, because college sports are an incredible institution in our country. And they are a valuable institution. And college sports are in crisis right now. We are witnessing chaos tearing apart an institution that so many of us love," said Sen. Cruz.

On Thursday, during The Battleground Texas show, Cruz was a featured interview and spoke on several topics, including his sports legislation. The Bill, according to its congressional description, establishes requirements for all college student athletes regarding name, image, or likeness agreements, which is known as NIL. 

The legislation also provides limited antitrust exemptions for schools and conferences. That measure would increase opportunities to pool and sell media rights packages.

"Every week, they're canceling another program. They're canceling women's sports, they're canceling Olympic sports. And if we don't act, we are going to see hundreds of thousands of roster slots and scholarship slots taken away from college athletes. That would be a travesty," said Cruz.

Sen. Cruz told Steven Dial he remains confident the long legislative drive to the President's desk will eventually cross the goal line, and that it will bring meaningful change.

"There are more than 500,000 college athletes in America right now? And I'll tell you, when I started drafting this bill, I didn't focus on the superstars. I didn't focus on Michael Jordans or the Arch Mannings. They're going to do great," said Cruz.

He said his focus is on the majority of college athletes who are never going to play in the NFL, never going to play in the NBA.

"But sports is their ticket to college. And for hundreds of thousands of young men and women, many of them African-American or Hispanic, many from low-income houses, without sports, they would not have another avenue to go to college and the skills they get through college sports of hard work and discipline. Teamwork, sportsmanship, set them up for success in life. And what we're seeing now is that path of opportunity profoundly threatened," said Cruz.

What's next:

A mutual goal of saving college sports is something Cruz believes should bring all lawmakers in Congress together. 

If there is a debate in the House, a big focus is expected to be on the concerns voiced by advocates for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Florida A&M Vice President John Davis recently wrote an op-ed and noted how some concerns are being addressed. 

The bill, for example, authorizes a little more than a billion dollars in grants to HBCUs. That money is to strengthen broadband, media production and sports-broadcast infrastructure to help those schools showcase their programs. 

It still looks like a House debate may not happen until after the mid-term elections.