College athletics have changed drastically over the last few years, and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz recently wrote an op-ed in USA Today calling on Congress to fix what’s been broken before college sports “cease to exist.”
Name, image, and likeness (NIL) was a new concept a few years ago, but it has quickly taken over college athletics. With more money involved in the game and the lack of rules in place for what can and can’t be done, conferences are dividing, and there’s a threat of college sports falling altogether.
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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz Sends Warning Regarding College Sports
Cruz is a senator in Texas, a state known for its love of football, especially at the high school and college level.
The sport around the country, but especially in the Lone Star State, is more than just a hobby or a pastime activity. Football is a culture and is ingrained in the state.
With the rise of NIL, the Pac-12’s dispersal a couple of years ago, and now threats from the SEC and Big Ten to break away from the rest of the NCAA, many believe that if nothing is done, college sports won’t be the same anymore.
Cruz stated that these events have led many to ask Congress to step in because, even though many fans scoff at lawmakers’ involvement, the legal problems college athletics is dealing with now are the result of previously enacted laws by Congress.
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“Only Congress can fix those laws so there is a clear and enforceable national rulebook for college sports,” Cruz wrote via USA Today. “If lawmakers don’t act, the college sports landscape that Americans have known for generations will soon cease to exist.”
Cruz is on the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees college athletics. The Texas senator, along with Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, worked together to come up with the Protect College Sports Act.
The Act would “create clear national rules for transfers and eligibility” and ensure Olympic sports are not cut as schools cut costs to pursue large deals in bigger sports.
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It would also “protect student athletes from unscrupulous agents” and make sure they have access to medical care. It would protect scholarships for injured players and “create an independent ombudsman office” to help them understand their new rights.
Additionally, the Protect College Sports Act would guarantee student-athletes the ability to play their sports and negotiate NIL deals while still earning a degree.
The bill has bipartisan and university support. At a recent committee discussion, more than two-thirds of the members voted in support, and it has now reached the Senate floor.
The Act also has backing from more than 260 universities and colleges, and President Donald Trump has pushed for the bill to make it to his desk soon.
The world of college sports is ever-changing right now, with many conflicting views. This is Cruz and Cantwell’s solution, and time will tell if it gets the support it needs to become a new law.
