US Senate passes landmark overhaul of college sports

The US Senate approved a landmark federal framework for college sports Monday, voting 72-22 to bring order to a multibillion-dollar industry whose biggest events can draw television audiences comparable to major professional championships.

The bipartisan Protect College Sports Act would regulate how universities pay athletes, restrict transfers and give the governing NCAA limited protection from antitrust lawsuits after years of court battles transformed the economics of college athletics.

The vote was one of the Senate’s last major legislative acts before lawmakers leave Washington to campaign for the Nov 3 midterm elections.

The bill now goes to the House of Representatives, which is already in recess until after Election Day, leaving a narrow window for Congress to complete work before a new legislature takes office in January.

President Donald Trump’s administration has endorsed the legislation, and the 80-year-old leader himself cheered the bill’s passage Monday night, posting to his Truth Social platform that “it will not only save college sports, it will save the colleges themselves.”

Unlike university sports in most countries, American college athletics is a vast commercial enterprise.

More than 30 million people watched January’s college football national championship on TV while the major conferences – regional groupings of universities that organise competition and negotiate media rights – have signed multibillion-dollar broadcasting contracts.

The legislation follows years of upheaval during which athletes won the right to profit from their names and images and, following a 2025 court settlement, universities began paying players directly.

It would establish national rules governing those payments and allow schools to spend nearly US$50 million annually through revenue-sharing and other funds.

Athletes would generally be allowed one transfer without sitting out a season, while agents’ fees would be capped at five percent.

The bill also provides longer-term scholarship and healthcare protections and seeks to safeguard women’s and Olympic sports.

Supporters argue that nationwide rules are needed to replace a patchwork of state laws and repeated litigation.

“Student athletes deserve to get paid. They deserve real protections. And high school athletes deserve a fair shot to compete,” said Senator Ted Cruz, who co-sponsored the bill.

“The Protect College Sports Act delivers that while protecting women’s and Olympic sports and preserving the game we love for generations to come,” the Texas Republican added.

But the measure has divided Democrats and drawn opposition from racial equality activists, labour unions and the Congressional Black Caucus.

Critics say its antitrust protections give too much power back to the NCAA while limiting athletes’ legal rights and leaving unresolved whether college players should ultimately be treated as employees entitled to collective bargaining.

The House could seek changes, potentially forcing another Senate vote and complicating efforts to send the legislation to Trump before the current Congress expires.

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