ARLINGTON, Va. -- Congress has only a matter of weeks to reconcile the SEC and Big Ten’s objections and move college sports legislation through the Senate, U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said Friday.
Schmitt, a co-sponsor of the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, said the next few weeks represent the best opportunity to advance the measure before Congress leaves for its August recess and shifts its focus to government funding and the 2026 midterm elections.
“If there’s any action that’s really going to be meaningful to get this done, the best time to do it is the next couple weeks,” Schmitt said during a panel discussion at the Associated Press Sports Editors Summer Conference, where he appeared alongside NCAA President Charlie Baker.
The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the legislation this week as lawmakers work to resolve concerns raised by the SEC and Big Ten before bringing it to the Senate floor. As first reported Friday morning by Yahoo Sports, negotiations have focused on revisions aimed at winning the conferences’ support, including clarifying that proposed media-rights pooling would be voluntary, ensuring the legislation would not limit the SEC and Big Ten’s ability to add member schools, and addressing other technical issues. Schmitt described many of those concerns as “definitional” and said lawmakers are working to build “a broader coalition” around the bill.
Schmitt said supporters “probably have 60 votes” in the Senate -- enough to overcome a filibuster -- but said backing from the SEC and Big Ten would strengthen the bill’s momentum as it moves through Congress.
“I don’t know that we need to, but I certainly would like to,” he said.
Friday’s session was originally scheduled to include Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Schmitt, along with Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.). Moderator Ross Dellenger, Yahoo Sports’ senior college football reporter, noted at the outset that some senators were unable to attend because negotiations over the legislation were continuing in Washington.
Here are other takeaways from the session:
Baker: Don’t let the perfect derail the bill
While acknowledging legitimate concerns from the SEC and Big Ten, the NCAA president warned against derailing legislation that addresses issues such as eligibility, transfers and agent regulation. “People want to get it to yes,” Baker said, adding that it would be a mistake to “kill in the crib” a bill that “did so many good things.” Schmitt said the legislation has benefited from rare bipartisan cooperation, noting it has avoided the typical “red jersey/ blue jersey” divide in Washington.
What if Congress doesn’t act?
Schmitt argued Congress is “the only entity on the planet” that can grant the antitrust protections needed for the NCAA or another governing body to enforce national rules on eligibility, transfers and NIL. Without legislation, he warned, college sports could become “even further unrecognizable” within three years, with schools eventually forced to make difficult decisions about Olympic and other non-revenue sports. Baker said the consequences are already evident: “You can’t have national championships if you don’t have national rules. Period.”
Sports betting has fueled a rise in athlete harassment
Baker said it was the No. 1 issue raised by student-athletes during meetings he held after being named NCAA president and before taking office in March 2023. Since then, the NCAA has pushed states to ban proposition bets on college athletes, monitored abusive social media posts during championships and even partnered with Venmo to stop users from targeting athletes with payment requests after games. Dellenger recalled Penn State QB Drew Allar saying he received hundreds of Venmo payment requests from disgruntled bettors after throwing the game-sealing interception in last season’s CFP semifinal. “This is a much bigger problem than I think people realize,” Baker said.
Transfer portal, agents continue to destabilize the system
Baker said roughly 40% of athletes who entered the transfer portal during his first year on the job never landed at another NCAA school. Baker blamed many of those cases on bad advice from unregulated agents, while Schmitt said the current system has created chaos, with tampering and recruiting taking place before seasons are even over.
