No vote.
After securing the late-July support of the Big Ten and SEC, as well as cloture filed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) on Wed., August 5, the Protect College Sports Act did not receive a vote on the Senate floor Friday, Aug. 7, prior to the Congressional recess.
The Senate worked into the morning hours of Saturday, Aug. 8, before it adjourned for its scheduled recess. The group does not return to Washington, D.C., for session until September 14.
"The Protect College Sports Act is an opportunity to preserve one of America’s greatest traditions: college sports," Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), a bill co-sponsor and chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. "My colleagues and I have worked hard
to end the chaos that is causing schools to cancel Olympic and women’s sports, programs to fall behind, and fans to pull out their hair in frustration. Our work is not over.
"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.”
Also co-sponsored by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Chris Coons (D-DE), the Protect College Sports Act had faced significant headwinds throughout the summer.
Until the public support of the Big Ten and SEC, college athletics' top two conferences, the Protect Act was not expected to receive cloture from Senator Thune despite its bipartisan origination and a 19-9 advancement through the Senate Commerce Committee.
The 171-page bill was drafted to address issues that have pervaded college sports at its highest levels this decade: conference expansion, Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), revenue-sharing, student-athlete transfers and coaching transitions all were among its most notable inclusions.
The bill contained language that provided participating schools to spend $43 million on revenue-share funding direct to student-athletes plus an additional $5 million in rev-share for women's and Olympic, non-revenue sports.
On Friday, Aug. 8, during the Senate session, multiple amendments were filed to the bill and deliberations stalled as the item was scrutinized on both sides of the aisle.
"Time may have run out to protect college sports in August but there is plenty of time in September," Senator Cantwell said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. "I'm glad Senator Thune set a date certain in September to bring it up because the challenges facing student athletes and universities aren't going away. "
Once Senate resumes in September, the bill must garner at least 60 votes to be passed through that chamber and on to the House; passage there would result in the bill's arrival in front of President Donald Trump, who already has voiced his public support of the Protect College Sports Act.
"The Protect College Sports Act provides stability and gives first-ever federal NIL rights and scholarship and healthcare protections for athletes," Cantwell said. "And this bipartisan bill is how we protect women's and Olympic sports. I look forward to its passage in September."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No buzzer-beater. Congress punts Protect College Sports Act to September
