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College sports regulatory bill passes first Senate vote
A new bill that could regulate portions of college athletics passed its first vote in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, and another vote to move the bill along could come by the end of this week. FOX 4's Steven Dial has more.
WASHINGTON D.C. - A bill aimed at regulating college sports took an important step towards becoming official this week, even as minority groups continue to oppose the bill.
Protect College Sports Act
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JANUARY 20: General view of NCAA headquarters exterior on January 20, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
What we know:
The Protect College Sports Act, co-authored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), is designed to regulate certain parts of the NCAA and college sports.
The bill would limit the number of times student-athletes can transfer to different schools,
It would also raise the total amount of Name, Image and Likeness money schools pay their players. Schools are currently capped at $21 million for NIL payments; the PCSA would raise the amount to $48 million.
Other changes include a five-year eligibility period for players, a clause that would prevent coaches from leaving their schools mid-season, and a 19-team cap on schools in power conferences.
WACO, TX - NOVEMBER 19: TCU Horned Frogs QB Max Duggan runs for yardage during the college football game between the TCU Horned Frogs and the Baylor Bears on November 19, 2022 at McLane Stadium in Waco, TX. (Photo by John Rivera/Icon Sportswire via G …
What's New:
On Tuesday, the Protect College Sports Act passed its first of three procedural votes, this one coming within the U.S. Senate.
Senators voted 74-24 to show their support of the bill, with 48 Republicans and 24 Democrats voting in support.
It needed 60 votes to proceed to the next vote.
What they're saying:
"The result is what we are seeing right now: the Wild West. The rules change from court to court, state to state and season to season. Athletes don't know what rules will govern them, coaches don't know what rosters will look like from one season to the next and schools don't know what rules they can legally enforce," Cruz said on the Senate floor on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 14: U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) (C) and ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) (L) hold a news conference with NCAA athletes and coaches about the Protect …
The other side:
All four Black Democratic senators voted against the bill, including Corey Booker (D-New Jersey). The NAACP also voiced their opposition on Tuesday.
Critics of the bill say student-athletes are not fairly represented in the bill, and empowers an organization, the NCAA, that does not have the best interests of its students-athletes in mind.
Booker, a former college football player at Stanford, voiced his opposition to the bill on the Senate floor on Tuesday.
"The NCAA has a long record of ignoring the cries of justice from exploited college athletes. The NCAA protects its members, it protects the colleges, and it has repeatedly put college athletes in horrible positions. For generations, billions of dollars were being made and given to coaches, ads, everybody was making money but college athletes weren't," Booker said.
What's next:
The Senate will again vote on the bill as soon as later this week.
The bill would then go to the House of Representatives, which is scheduled to go on another break soon.
Cruz believes the bill could be signed into law by President Donald Trump, a supporter of the Protect College Sports Act, before the November 3 midterm elections.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the U.S. Senate and Yahoo Sports.