Bipartisan Protect College Sports Act Advances to Full Senate
Today, the Protect College Sports Act of 2026 passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation with strong bipartisan support (19-9), sending the legislation to the full Senate for consideration. The landmark bill sets new rules and provides new tools to stabilize college sports, including codifying athletes’ rights to earn compensation for their NIL, enshrining scholarship, scholarship and healthcare protections in law, reining in predatory agents and preserving and protecting the future of women’s and Olympic sports.
Committee Hears Powerful Testimony Bolstering the Need to Fix College Sports Crisis, Stop Cuts to Women’s & Olympic Sports & Protect Athletes
At a landmark hearing on the Protect College Sports Act, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee heard powerful testimony on the worsening crisis facing college athletics, including the future of women’s and Olympic sports, athletes’ rights and the financial sustainability of the entire collegiate sports system. Former University of Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban, Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould, University of Notre Dame Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua, West Virginia University President Emeritus Gordon Gee and Lance Holtzclaw, a student athlete with the University of Utah underscored the urgency to act on the bill’s key measures to preserve athletic opportunities for all athletes and stabilize the future of college athletics.
Ranking Member Cantwell Opening Statement at Hearing on the Future of College Sports
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, gave the following opening statement at today’s full committee hearing on the future of college sports:
Cantwell, Cruz, Coons & Schmitt Release Bipartisan Bill to Stabilize College Sports, Protect Athletes and Expand Revenue Sharing
U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), along with Senators Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and Chris Coons (D-Del. are introducing the Protect College Sports Act of 2026 to protect athletes, preserve true competition in college sports and maximize collegiate athletic opportunities while bringing desperately-needed stability to the college sports system. The Act creates new rules and new tools to stabilize college sports, including codifying athletes’ rights and protections in law, supporting women’s and Olympic sports and amending the Sports Broadcasting Act (SBA) to expand revenue for all schools.
Cantwell Demands Accountability for Prediction Markets Offering Sports Betting
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, pressed witnesses at a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on the unchecked expansion of prediction markets into sports gambling — demanding answers about how these platforms are undermining tribal sovereignty, threatening the economic vitality of Indian Country and exposing vulnerable individuals, including minors, to predatory gambling practices. Senator Cantwell drew a parallel to the explosion of subprime mortgage lending leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, warning that the failure to act to rein in prediction markets risks repeating the same disastrous results for millions of Americans.