If they put a salary cap across all college sports then big school supporters will have to dust off the old bags. Government is going to screw this up more than it already is.
Texas A&M and Texas jointly address Protect College Sports Act
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Aggies and Longhorns don’t often agree, which makes this development all the more poignant.
On Friday, the chairmen of the respective Boards of Regents at both Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin sent joint statements to Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) expressing opposition to the Protect College Sports Act, which passed a Senate Commerce Committee vote on June 18.
The letters, individually addressed to Cruz and Cornyn, were signed by Robert L. Albritton, Chairman of the Texas A&M University System’s Board of Regents, and Kevin P. Eltife, Chairman of the University of Texas System.
TexAgs was able to obtain copies of the letters, which we’ve learned have also quickly circulated throughout the Southeastern Conference:
On behalf of Texas A&M University and the University of Texas, we are grateful for the significant work of Congress in attempting to solve some of the critical challenges currently facing college athletics.
While we appreciate the efforts of many in the recently released Protect College Sports Act, there remain key issues with the bill as currently drafted.
While Texas A&M University and the University of Texas do not support this bill in its current form, we look forward to working with Congress and the Southeastern Conference to make the necessary improvements so that we can support the bill and ensure the future of college athletics is preserved for students, fans and institutions alike.
Click here to see a copy of the memo.
The sentiments emanating from College Station and Austin are not alone.
Last week, the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten Conference — the two most powerful leagues on the college sports landscape — jointly spoke publicly against the Protect College Sports Act as it currently stands:
“From the outset, we identified a set of essential revisions to the PCSA necessary for the long-term sustainability of college athletics. We have worked with both majority and minority staff to advance those revisions, which focus on better supporting student athletes and stabilizing the college sports environment. We continue to believe revisions are needed to secure our support for the bill.
“Despite our sustained engagement and good faith efforts, these critical revisions have not been accepted.
“We are encouraged that several Commerce Committee members share our concerns and support these recommendations. We will continue working with stakeholders to ensure the PCSA delivers meaningful protections for student-athletes and lasting stability for college sports.”
Currently, the PCSA is moving forward to a full Senate vote, but details of the proposal are still subject to change.
Support for the bill varies on a case-by-case basis at both the conference and institutional levels.
“What we did today was say we’re not going to let the most powerful, richest conferences dictate to the rest of America what’s going to happen to 500,000 athletes,” Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) said last Thursday.
Under the current proposal, the NCAA would be granted antitrust exemption in an effort to enforce a cap on payments to student-athletes, but it also aims to close the significant financial gap between most of college sports and the two largest conferences: the SEC and Big Ten.
It is believed that the PCSA faces an uphill battle toward becoming federal law, as the bill faces a time crunch ahead of the November elections, as well as opposition from several fronts, now including Texas A&M and Texas.
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