Considered failed before launch as recently as the waning days of July, the Protect College Sports Act instead has been moved for cloture -- that is, set for a vote by the U.S. Senate after Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) announced the news Wednesday, August 5.
The Senate Cloakroom X (formerly Twitter) account posted that "Leader Thune filed cloture on the motion to proceed to Cal. (calendar), #449, S.4688, Protect College Sports Act of 2026."
A vote of at least 60 votes is needed to pass the Protect College Sports Act on the Senate floor and send it onto the House of Representatives; passage there would then require the signature of President Donald Trump, who already has he signaled multiple times his support of the legislation.
Sen.
Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), a bill co-sponsor alongside Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), wasted little time in reacting to Thune's move.
"Let's get this done -- let's save college sports!," Schmitt posted on X.
Cantwell helped carve one of the bill's key revisions, among a dozen major ones, five people on Capitol Hill familiar with the bill's drafting, told USA TODAY Sports. In final bill language that USA TODAY Sports reviewed Tuesday, August 4, the carve-out of a $5 million exception for revenue-sharing that must be earmarked for women's sports and Olympic, non-revenue sports.
Cruz this week already issued a sports jargon-filled statement that urged his peers to get the bill to the Senate floor for vote and passed through to the House.
“We listened to our colleagues, addressed their concerns, and improved an already strong bill," Sen. Cruz said in a statement obtained by USA TODAY Sports. "The Protect College Sports Act is our last, best chance to preserve one of America’s great unifying traditions for the athletes who compete and the fans who fill the stands. This landmark bipartisan legislation will halt the chaos that is unfolding across the nation and restore order to the ongoing arms race, while preserving opportunities for hundreds of thousands of student athletes. The coalition behind this bill now spans twenty-seven conferences including the Big Ten and SEC, hundreds of universities, HBCUs, student athletes, Team USA, and professional sports leagues. College sports cannot afford another punt. I urge my Senate colleagues to finish the drive and get this bill across the goal line.”
Timing is viewed as critical because Congress has its scheduled recess Friday, August 7, and the Senate is not scheduled to return until mid-September.
Mid-term elections take place the first Tuesday in November and any delays on getting the bill to a floor vote could result in the bill's losing momentum or being nudged into the 2027 calendar year.
"We want to get 70 votes, to show real momentum," a Senate Commerce Committee aide previously told USA TODAY Sports.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Protect College Sports Act set for Senate floor vote after cloture announced
