Since NIL came into existence, the NCAA has gradually lost its grip on governance. The governing body has faced hundreds of eligibility lawsuits. Every major NCAA decision, including the recent ‘five-for-five’ rule, has faced legal challenges. The only solution for the NCAA and the conferences was federal legislation granting an antitrust exemption. However, that wish is facing a long delay.

ESPN reports that the long-anticipated Protect College Sports Act will not receive a full vote in the U.S. Senate before August. It will likely happen only after Congress takes its August recess, a congressional aide told ESPN. Moreover, a Punchbowl News reporter asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune for an update, and he replied, “I don’t think we’ll be able to get them done.”

The Senate Commerce Committee cleared the Cruz-Cantwell bill in June, and many hoped lawmakers would pass it this summer. However, that does not seem to be the case now. The proposed legislation aims to govern aspects like NIL, eligibility, and conference alignment. Most importantly, it provides antitrust exemptions to prevent lawsuits against the NCAA. The bill is now crucial to the NCAA’s survival.

“Congress does need to fix the mess in the courts and create a national framework so the people inside college sports can enforce fair rules,” former Alabama head coach Nick Saban said about the legislation at the Senate Commerce Committee’s hearing. “Without that legal certainty, every rule becomes another lawsuit, every standard becomes another risk, and the system keeps drifting toward a professional model.”

The Act’s main aims are to achieve national uniformity across aspects such as NIL, transfers, revenue sharing, and governance in college athletics. Additionally, its provisions also maintain competitive balance and preserve non-revenue sports, including Olympic and women’s sports, for the future. Not just that, the Act will also codify the provisions of the House vs. NCAA settlement and address several conflicting state laws. As for its actual passing into law, time is running out.

Congress has introduced more than 40 bills since the 2021 NCAA v. Alston’s decision triggered the explosion of NIL. However, none of those 40 bills have yet passed owing to legal complexities and a divided Congress. The Protect College Sports Act is the latest high-profile attempt to streamline college sports governance. Thankfully, discussions are ongoing to address several issues and bring everyone on board.

“I think everyone would agree, sooner is better, but Congress does work best on deadlines,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. “I think we’ve seen that over and over. And I fully appreciate that they’re engaged and they want to be careful about sharing text, but to understand what changes (are).”

The August congressional recess is quite close, and after that, the midterm elections will dominate the headlines. Congressmen will be busy handling that, and college sports will fade into the background as it always has for the Senate. But even now, several stakeholders, including the SEC and Big Ten, remain unconvinced by the legislation and want changes.

Greg Sankey opens up about his conference’s stance towards the Protect College Sports Act

Apart from the antitrust, NIL, and revenue-sharing provisions, the PCSA also proposed to limit the SEC’s and the Big Ten’s powers to accept more conference members. Instead, the conferences argue that if the Act includes such a provision, lawmakers should apply it to all Power 4 conferences. The two conferences have also opposed the Act’s provisions that allow all programs to sell their media rights as a single unit. According to them, it may limit their earning power and existing media rights deals.

“A lot of conversations, but we really need to see what adjustments are being made to determine our position,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said about his conference’s stance towards the Act. “I still don’t understand why there’s football scheduling. Congress has a lot to do. I don’t think it should be involved in football scheduling. But what adjustments can be made? And we’ve proposed those. We haven’t seen the outcome.”

According to Sankey, he hasn’t yet seen the updated document, and he will only then show his stance on the legislation. It has been weeks since the conference reps have seen anything substantial. Despite that, the legislation’s co-authors, Cruz and Sen. Maria Cantwell’s staff, have met with college officials in Washington, D.C., this week and are discussing the changes to the bill. Now, it remains to be seen whether lawmakers will finally pass the bill into law.