{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senate-votes-74-24-to-advance-cantwells-bipartisan-protect-college-sports-act", "Senate Votes 74-24 To Advance Cantwell\u2019s Bipartisan Protect College Sports Act", "2026-09-15", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "WA", "Maria Cantwell", "C000127", "www.cantwell.senate.gov", "cantwell", "https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "Senate Votes 74-24 To Advance Cantwell\u2019s Bipartisan Protect College Sports Act\n\nThe Protect College Sports Act creates federal rights and protections for student athletes and secures the future of women\u2019s and Olympic sports; Today, Cantwell\u2019s office published a snapshot report detailing how runaway spending on athletics is harming colleges & students\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, the U.S. Senate voted 74-24 to invoke cloture on the Motion to Proceed to the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan bill authored and introduced by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), the committee chair.\n\nFollowing today\u2019s vote, the bill now awaits additional votes in the Senate. If passed by the Senate, the legislation would then be considered by the House of Representatives.\n\nIn a speech on the Senate floor before the vote, Sen. Cantwell said: \"This bill brings order to [college sports]. It helps women and Olympic sports, and it sets up a commission to look at the real future, which I think should include collective bargaining [...] Let's bring some sanity. Recognize that athletes do deserve revenue sharing, and that this bill will put that into law for the first time.\"\n\nVideo of her speech is HERE; a transcript is HERE.\n\nToday, Sen. Cantwell\u2019s office also released a snapshot report detailing how the unsustainable growth in spending on college sports is amplifying financial pressures on colleges and universities. That report can be read in full HERE.\n\nYesterday, Sen. Cantwell joined current college athletes, coaches, and senators from both parties for a press conference at the U.S. Capitol to speak in support of the Protect College Sports Act. That press conference, which also included Gonzaga University head men\u2019s basketball coach Mark Few, can be watched in full HERE.\n\nThe Protect College Sports Act:\n\nPROTECTS ATHLETES:\n\nFirst-ever NIL Right\n\nGrants student athletes a new federal right to earn compensation for their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and replaces the patchwork of state laws with a strong national NIL right.\n\nAdopts the revenue share cap negotiated between plaintiff student-athletes and the NCAA and Power 5 conferences in the Grant House vs. NCAA settlement, but also allows tens of millions of additional dollars to flow directly from schools to student-athletes through a new $22.5 million retention fund (up to $27.5 million if schools pay athletes in non-revenue sports).\n\nThe revenue share cap can be increased or otherwise modified by agreement of the parties, and the provisions of the bill relating to the revenue share cap and retention fund are solely for the duration of the negotiated House settlement, unless Congress votes to retain them.\n\nNew Contract & Agent Rules with Real Teeth to Protect Athletes From Exploitation\n\nNIL contracts must include key terms and cannot bind athletes beyond their eligibility for intercollegiate athletics.\n\nRequires agents to register with a state and certify to the NCAA that they are registered before they can represent a student athlete.\n\nCaps agent fees at 5 percent.\n\nProhibits an agent from misleading a student-athlete about the existence or value of NIL deals to entice the athlete to enroll or transfer.\n\nThese protections can be enforced by athletes through a private right of action or by the FTC or state attorneys general.\n\nAcademic & Scholarship Guarantee\n\nGuarantees scholarships for ten years after eligibility, so athletes can complete their degrees.\n\nEnsures student athletes cannot lose their scholarship because of injury or a bad game.\n\nPrevents athletic staff from pressuring student-athletes regarding their choice of course or major.\n\nStudent Athletes\u2019 Health and Safety Protections While in School\n\nRequires Division I schools to cover out-of-pocket medical costs for athletic injuries or illness for current student-athletes, including covering the cost of a second opinion and providing an end-of-eligibility medical examination.\n\nMandates safety standards for heat exertion, brain injury, sickle cell trait, and asthma; overseen by health and safety officers independent of the athletic department.\n\nPrevents coaches or non-medical athletic personnel from second-guessing the decisions of medical personnel about a student\u2019s ability to play.\n\nRequires schools to prevent, assess, and remediate abuse of athletes, hazing, sexual assault, sexual misconduct, and sexual harassment.\n\nHealthcare Protections When the Season is Over\n\nFor Division I schools, mandates they cover out-of-pocket costs for sports-related injuries or illness for 5 years post-eligibility.\n\nCreates a medical trust fund of at least $60 up to $100 million/year to help schools with demonstrated financial need provide post-eligibility medical coverage and to help athletes with the cost of significant, long-term conditions, like chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), incurred from playing a sport. Pooled media rights revenue from the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 (SBA) covered entity may be used for this fund.\n\nEqual Treatment in Tournaments\n\nRequires the NCAA and conferences to maintain comparable standards across men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams for medical care, lodging, meals, rest, transportation, publicity and promotion, and athletic facilities at championship events or tournaments.\n\nStrong Enforcement When Athletes\u2019 Rights Are Violated\n\nGives athletes a private right of action to enforce provisions of the bill, including their NIL rights, agent protections, health and safety standards, scholarship protections and medical coverage requirements.\n\nAthletes cannot be forced to give up their right to join a class action with more than seven named plaintiffs or enter arbitration if they seek to enforce their rights.\n\nProtections for Women\u2019s and Olympic Sports\n\nPrevents women\u2019s and Olympic sports from being cut by requiring schools to maintain a minimum number of sports and requiring schools making $80 million or more in athletic department revenue to maintain, at minimum, the same total roster spots and grant-in-aid for non-revenue sports as in 2024-2025. Establishes a waiver process including exemptions for extraordinary circumstances. For mid-sized schools with athletic department revenue between $50 and $80 million, they are subject to the same roster spot and grant-in-aid requirements for non-revenue sports as large schools; however, they have a more lenient exemption process.\n\nMakes clear that nothing in the bill overrides, modifies, or amends the applicability of Title IX. Also provides whistleblower protections for reporting Title IX violations or participating in a Title IX challenge.\n\nProtects para-athletes\u2019 walk-on eligibility so all student-athletes can participate in college sports.\n\nRequires schools that pool their media rights to promote and distribute the media rights for women\u2019s and Olympic sports.\n\nAthlete Ombudsman\n\nCreates an Office of Athlete Ombudsman at the NCAA to provide independent guidance and advice to student athletes, help them resolve disputes with schools and conferences and refer them to available resources.\n\nWhistleblower Protections\n\nProvides whistleblower protection to individuals who report violations of the bill\u2019s provisions or participate in legal challenges brought or about to be brought under the Act.\n\nStudent Athletes Get a Seat at the Table\n\nRequires at least one-third of athletic association governing boards or other committees with rulemaking authority to be comprised of current or recent former student athletes.\n\nCreates a Student Athlete Retention Council within the Commission on the Future of College Athletics to provide recommendations on the future of the retention fund.\n\nExpands Representation and Opportunities\n\nRequires two members of the Commission on the Future of College Athletics to be representatives from HBCUs and two members of the Commission to be representatives from a mid-sized conference.\n\nEligibility\n\nProvides athletes with five years of eligibility with exceptions, including for serious injury or medical condition.\n\nTransfer\n\nAllows athletes to transfer once without having to sit out a year. Athletes may transfer again without sitting out a year to pursue a graduate degree, if their sport is cut, if their head coach leaves, or if they are sexually assaulted or harassed.\n\nProhibits Mid-Season Coaching Transitions\n\nPrevents football coaches and key football staff from leaving mid-season to coach or otherwise effectively take over another FBS program during the same competitive season, including through recruiting, roster management, NIL activity, or game-planning functions.\n\nEXPANDS REVENUE TO BENEFIT SCHOOLS, ATHLETES, FANS\n\nMore Revenue for Every Participating School\n\nSchools join a voluntary collective to pool and jointly negotiate their media rights, just like the NFL, NBA, and NHL. The bill amends the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to extend this antitrust protection to college sports.\n\nLess Pressure on Endowments and Student Fees\n\nNew pooled revenue under this bill gives schools more financial stability without raiding academics or charging students more.\n\nVoluntary Participation, Existing Contracts Preserved\n\nNo school or conference is forced to join. Existing media rights contracts are not abrogated.\n\nProtections for Women\u2019s and Olympic Sports\n\nSchools must use pooled media revenue to maintain the same number of grant-in-aid opportunities and roster spots for non-revenue generating sports as provided in the 2024-25 academic year. Stops major programs from cutting non-revenue sports to fund football and basketball arms races.\n\nLocal Outlet Option for Football and Basketball\n\nRequires every football and basketball game be made available on a non-exclusive basis to at least one free TV local outlet in the home market of each participating school.\n\nMedia Rights Utilization for Non-Revenue Sports\n\nRequires distributors to reconvey media rights back to schools if those rights are not used, so non-revenue sports like volleyball, soccer, and track can grow through targeted distribution rather than sitting on a shelf.\n\nA Move Back to Regionalism\n\nProtects traditional rivalries on football schedules to ensure fans still get to see their favorite teams play each other.\n\nProhibits Mid-season Coaching Transitions\n\nPrevents football coaches and key football staff from leaving mid-season to coach or otherwise effectively take over another FBS program during the same competitive season, including through recruiting, roster management, NIL activity, or game-planning functions.\n\nSen. Cantwell is leading the effort to reform college sports and ensure tomorrow\u2019s athletes have the same opportunities as today\u2019s competitors. The Protect College Sports Act of 2026 sets new rules and provides new tools to stabilize college sports, including codifying athletes\u2019 rights to earn compensation for their NIL, enshrining scholarship and healthcare protections in law, reining in predatory agents, expanding revenue for all schools, and preserving and protecting the future of women\u2019s and Olympic sports.\n\nIn June, at a landmark hearing on the bill, the Commerce Committee heard powerful testimony on the worsening crisis facing college athletics, including the future of women's and Olympic sports, athletes\u2019 rights, and the financial sustainability of the entire collegiate sports system.\n\nIn December of last year, she introduced the Helping Undergraduate Students Thrive with Long-Term Earnings (HUSTLE Act) with Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) so that college athletes earning NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) money can protect more of it for their post-playing lives. In October, Sen. Cantwell joined former college and professional athletes and Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in warning that the SCORE Act would roll-back hard fought NIL rights and health protections, leave athletes vulnerable to unscrupulous agents, short-change women\u2019s and Olympic sports, and shut the door on collective bargaining rights.\n\nLast September, Sen. Cantwell, joined by co-sponsors Sens. Booker and Blumenthal, introduced the Student Athlete Fairness and Enforcement (SAFE) Act to codify athletes\u2019 rights and protections in law, expand revenue for all schools, support women\u2019s and Olympic sports, and bring much-needed stability to the college sports system.\n\nNext Article Previous Article", 1, "2026-09-16T09:43:13Z", "2026-09-16T09:44:22Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senate-votes-74-24-to-advance-cantwells-bipartisan-protect-college-sports-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.4041518811136484, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}