Nick Saban threw his support behind a bipartisan bill designed to regulate college sports during a Senate hearing Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the SEC and Big Ten said the legislation still needs work.
The Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the Protect College Sports Act, sponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas-R) and Maria Cantwell (Wash.-D), lasted just over three hours.
“I’m not here representing a conference or a team but to preserve college athletics as a whole,” Saban said in his opening testimony.
Saban touted the bill for creating “competitive balance.”
“If you had the biggest, baddest Ferrari that you could ever have, and it was going 150 mph toward the Grand Canyon, someone needs to tap the brakes,” Saban said of college sports. “That’s what we all need to do here.”
Along with Saban, lawmakers heard from Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould, former Ohio State and West Virginia president Gordon Gee and current Utah football player Lance Holtzclaw.
The Protect College Sports Act would allow the NCAA to limit transfers and eligibility, enforce a spending cap, give conferences the option to pool their television rights and prevent coaches from leaving their teams before the end of the season. It also includes language to prevent a possible breakaway “super league” by the Big Ten and SEC.
The ACC, Big 12 and American Conference leaders have already publicly backed the bill. NCAA President Charlie Baker, in a letter to member schools sent Wednesday, struck a positive tone and pledged to keep working toward passing legislation.
“Based on our analysis and the initial feedback from schools, we believe the bill addresses many, but not all, of the priorities student-athlete leaders and institutions have been advocating for.”
Bevacqua also backed the bill Wednesday, representing Notre Dame. He warned that without a federal law, college football could be heading toward becoming a mini-NFL where only a few high-spending schools can compete.
“It’s not perfect but it’s tremendous progress,” Bevacqua said about the bill.
But on the eve of the hearing, the Big Ten and SEC released a joint statement, more carefully withholding support.
“While we appreciate the leadership of Senators Cruz and Cantwell in pursuing these shared goals, we do not support the Protect College Sports Act as drafted,” the statement read.
The Big Ten and SEC have stated skepticism about the idea of conferences pooling media rights as a way to unlock millions, even billions, in additional revenue to cover the rising costs of big-time college sports.
Cantwell cited expert estimates, claiming pooled media rights could bring an additional $4-8 billion in revenue to all schools that compete in major college football.
“We agree today that college athletics are in crisis, and we agree that the system is broken and unsustainable,” Cantwell said.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump offered his support for the Senate bill in a social media post.
“This Law resolves many of the most urgent issues challenging our Universities and Student-Athletes, stops the chaos and, most importantly, it may be the last chance to save College Sports, and Colleges themselves, before it’s too late,” the president wrote.
Trump blamed “unending lawsuits and crazed rulings” for disrupting college athletics and described women’s and Olympic sports of being “in the most danger.” Trump mentioned his recent White House roundtable and executive order on college sports, while adding that bipartisan legislation represents the most comprehensive solution. Trump thanked Sens. Cruz, Cantwell, Eric Schmitt and Chris Coons for introducing the Protect College Sports Act, and acknowledged the work the House of Representatives had done with the SCORE Act, while encouraging Congress to pass legislation in the coming months.
“I urge the House and Senate to come together to pass a final Bipartisan Law, that I can sign this summer, that reflects the views and input of both Chambers,” Trump wrote. “WE HAVE TO SAVE COLLEGE SPORTS!”
Also on Thursday, Sen. Steve Scalise, the House majority leader, criticized the Senate bill for not preventing employment status of college athletes — despite numerous stallings of the SCORE Act — and for the lack of support from the Big Ten and SEC.
“Nobody can credibly say they’re going to move a bill to address college athletics and have opposition from the two major college athletic conferences,” Scalise told Politico. “I’m glad they’re doing some work on the Senate side, but for the House to be able to take anything up, you got to prevent employment status of the student athletes.”
Another hurdle for the bill arose moments before Wednesday’s hearing started. The Congressional Black Caucus released a statement saying it would not support the Protect College Sports Act “until college athletics leaders meaningfully engage concerns about attacks on Black political representation.”
The CBC pulled its support of a House of Representatives bill, the SCORE Act, as pushback against Republican redistricting efforts across several southern states.
The SCORE Act had widespread support across college sports after years of lobbying by the NCAA and college sports leaders, but it never reached the floor for a vote.
The focus is now on the Cruz-Cantwell bill. Cruz said he and Cantwell “spent hundreds if not thousands of hours” negotiating the bill.
“It is the last best hope to save college sports,” Cruz said.
— Justin Williams contributed to this report.
