The Protect College Sports Act has already passed the U.S. Senate, but its progress has hit a snag in the House of Representatives as two Florida schools balk at the bill’s realignment restrictions.
The Senate’s version has already been altered: Florida Republican Representative Ashley Moody successfully raised the conference membership cap from 19 to 20 by a voice vote on Monday as the House debates the bill. But at least two Florida schools remain concerned about the restrictions, according to Sport&State.
Florida State and Miami are still upset over restrictions that they fear could put a crimp in their challenge of the ACC’s exit rules. Both schools are lobbying for more flexibility in the realignment rules.
New York Yankees president Randy Levine, also president and vice chair of President Donald Trump’s Saving College Sports Roundtable, is not at all happy with the two schools and their attempt to throw a monkey wrench into the bill’s progress.
“What’s very disturbing to me is that we have this amazing bipartisan bill which got 77 votes in the US Senate, where the Moody amendment was passed, and yet, principally Miami and Florida State continue to try and undermine the bill, which even they say is great for the game, over the fact that they want to blow up the ACC when the Big Ten and SEC have told me as recently as today that neither has any plans to expand,” Levine said, according to On3.
Levin also warned that several more material changes are likely in the House. That means the bill will have to go back to the U.S. Senate to be approved again before it can head to the president to be signed—if it gets that far.
But it appears all of this will have to wait until the midterm elections are concluded, anyway. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has already noted that the House won’t take up debate and discussion on the bill until after the election.
It also seems unlikely the Senate will re-approve the bill before the end of the year, even if the House finishes its revisions and passes it back to the upper chamber in November or December.
So, it appears the Protect College Sports Act will stall for the rest of the year and might not come back up until January or February, or even later, in the Senate.
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