Alabama, Auburn oppose Protect College Sports Act
Alabama and Auburn urged the Senate to reject the Protect College Sports Act saying it would increase litigation and federal oversight.
The University of Alabama and Auburn University said the U.S. Senate should not advance the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act.
In a joint statement released Monday, leaders from both universities said they oppose the legislation “in its current form.” The universities said the proposal would increase legal uncertainty and expand federal oversight of college athletics, “perpetuating the very instability it claims to cure.”
The statement was signed by University of Alabama System Board of Trustees President Pro Tempore Scott Phelps, University of Alabama President Peter Mohler, Auburn University Board of Trustees President Pro Tempore James H. Samford and Auburn University President Christopher B. Roberts.
The Protect College Sports Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate by senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, seeks to establish a national framework governing name, image and likeness compensation, provide protections for Olympic and women’s sports and grant the NCAA limited antitrust protections.
Alabama’s two flagship universities said the legislation instead would undermine recent reforms stemming from the House settlement that reshaped the NCAA’s approach to athlete compensation and enforcement.
According to the joint statement, the bill would weaken the implementation and enforcement of rules established under the settlement by narrowing disclosure requirements and enforcement tools needed to hold athletic programs to consistent national standards.
The statement also criticizes the legislation for establishing what the universities described as an expansive federal program that would “micromanage” college athletics by reaching into roster decisions, game scheduling and university governance.
The universities also objected to provisions they said would benefit private equity investors by encouraging institutions to pool media rights revenue in a manner that “punishes success rather than rewarding it.”
Despite their opposition to the current bill, Alabama and Auburn said they support congressional efforts to establish nationwide standards for college athletics.
“Auburn University and The University of Alabama both appreciate Congress’s attention to these challenges and share the goals of creating opportunities for and protecting student-athletes, sustaining women’s and Olympic sports, and promoting fair competition through a single, clear national set of rules,” the statement said.
However, the universities argued the legislation “solves little of what genuinely challenges college athletics and leaves the central questions to the courts, inviting the very litigation it claims to prevent.”
The institutions said they remain willing to work with Alabama’s congressional delegation and other lawmakers toward legislation that better protects student-athletes while allowing universities to compete and operate responsibly.
The legislation has garnered support from leaders across college athletics. Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban has expressed support for the bill, joining dozens of athletic conferences and hundreds of colleges that argue federal legislation is needed to create uniform national standards.
Alabama and Auburn are among the latest major athletic programs to oppose the legislation. The universities’ statement follows a similar letter released by the University of Texas and Texas A&M University criticizing the bill.
