Federal legislation aimed at creating uniform rules for college athletics in the current age of name, image, and likeness, and endless transfers needs to clear one more congressional chamber before it can head to the desk of President Donald Trump. And though there could be a changing of the guard on Capitol Hill after November’s midterms, one Mississippi lawmaker is confident the bill will pass no matter which party is in leadership.
The Protect College Sports Act passed overwhelmingly in the U.S. Senate in late September. The bipartisan bill standardizes NIL guidelines, prohibits coaches from leaving one school for another during the season, and most importantly, gives the NCAA enforcement authority over its rules.
Now, it awaits approval from the House of Representatives before it can move forward. One wrinkle in that process is that the House is not in session. With midterms a month away, many representatives are back in their hometowns campaigning. Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.) is not concerned, though.
Despite the Republicans’ majority in the chamber being threatened in the upcoming elections, Guest is confident that the chamber would pass the bill with no major amendments regardless of whether the GOP or Democratic Party makes up the majority of the congressional body.
“I think the thing that makes this bill pressing is that we’re here at the start of the college football season. College sports are at the top of minds for a lot of Americans,” Guest said. “One of the things that gives me hope that we’ll be able to get this passed in the House is the overwhelming vote that we were able to see out of the Senate. 77 senators voting for anything is extremely rare in the world that we live in. With such overwhelming support from the Senate, I think there’s momentum for that.”
The Protect College Sports Act was introduced in both congressional chambers in early June. Its September passage in the Senate followed a wildfire of college teams attempting to roster athletes who had signed with professional organizations. Most notably, Lane Kiffin lured defensive tackle Zxavian Harris and tight end Dae’Quan Wright to LSU. The former Ole Miss players had signed with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns, respectively, in the offseason.
Both players joined a laundry list of their peers in going through a Louisiana court to circumvent NCAA rules and earn an extra year of collegiate eligibility. The Southeastern Conference, however, sued LSU and Kiffin in federal court, and the program ultimately waved the white flag on rostering the players.
Still, the lack of authority the NCAA currently has in enforcing eligibility was seemingly a major cause for concern for Congress, according to Guest. The September mobilization of getting the bill pushed through the Senate underscored a general sentiment among many federal lawmakers, especially those in football-dominated states, that the only way to restore order in college athletics is by passing the bill.
“I think it had to get to the point where it became bad enough in college athletics that Congress finally decided that the NCAA was not going to be able to fix this,” Guest said. “This is a problem that is just going to continue to get worse unless Congress steps in. I think what we saw at the beginning of this football season, particularly what was happening down at LSU with them trying to bring back professional players who had been cut, I think that gave motivation for members of the Senate to say, ‘Alright, now is the time to act.'”
Nonetheless, a vote on the bill is not expected until after the November midterms. And the Protect College Sports Act, while important, is not among the highest priority items, Guest added.
The federal government is currently being funded by a continuing resolution, one that expires in December. Lawmakers have yet to approve major appropriations bills. There are also unresolved bills related to defense spending and oversight for government surveillance. With that in mind, Guest has questioned why Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson sent representatives on a seven-week recess while the Republican-led body theoretically advanced several agenda items.
“I was not asked whether or not I agree with that opinion,” Guest said. “I do not agree with that opinion. I think we should be in Washington. We should have been in Washington last week. We should have been in session this week…because we have several major pieces of legislation that we have to get across the finish line between now and the end of the year.”
As things stand, politicos and pollsters predict that the Democratic Party will reclaim control of the House of Representatives. Midterm elections will be held on Nov. 3.