Protect College Sports Act fails to reach Senate floor for vote, as lawmakers recess until September
The Senate did not vote on the Protect College Sports Act before its August recess, putting the bill's chances of passage in a precarious position once lawmakers return in September.
It is a blow to college sports leaders who have invested millions of dollars and thousands of hours lobbying for a federal solution to a series of issues, including player compensation, that have left administrators, coaches and others deeply frustrated.
It became, in many ways, the dominant offseason topic as powerful conference commissioners used their bully pulpits to advocate their desperate need for Congressional help. While admittedly imperfect to even its authors, the PCSA offered the greatest hope yet to college sports leaders in what has been a seven-year lobbying odyssey. Earlier optimism centered on a House of Representatives bill called the SCORE Act, which never materialized, as it never reached a formal vote.
"Our work is not over," Sen. Ted Cruz, a co-author of the bill, said in a statement provided to CBS Sports. "The good news is that when the Senate returns in September, the Protect College Sports Act will be one of our first orders of business, having locked in a vote. We will get the bill to President Trump's desk and deliver results for hundreds of thousands of student athletes and bring stability to college athletics."