Leaders at the University of Alabama and Auburn University issued a joint statement on Monday, July 6, opposing the Protect College Sports Act in its current form and urging the Senate not to advance it.
The bill, led by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), aims to create federal framework for college athletics regulation. It would implement an antitrust exemption that clears the way for a cap on payments to athletes, set national name, image, and likeness standards, institute new rules intended to limit transfers, and provide a path for conferences to pool media rights instead of negotiating with networks individually.
According to the statement, the bill is "presented as a way to 'stabilize' college athletics, but it would do the opposite by perpetuating the very instability it claims to cure through provisions that would."
More than 20 college conferences, including the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), have offered public support to the Protect College Sports Act, but leadership of the SEC and the Big 10 have expressed opposition.
Rivals Texas and Texas A&M released a joint statement in June opposing the bill.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who coached football at Auburn from 1999-2008, has said he does not support the bill and asserts that it gets "too deep" into the business of universities, conferences, and athletic departments.
President Donald Trump has urged Congress to vote on the Protect College Sports Act this summer; Cruz said last month that he believes the Senate will bring the bill to the floor sometime in July. It will need 60 votes to pass.
