U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) said he will force Senate action on his college sports reform bill this week, hotlining the Student Athlete Act as the battle over NIL and the transfer portal intensifies on Capitol Hill.
Tuberville made the announcement during an interview Wednesday on “Longshore & McKnight,” days after publicly opposing the Cruz-Cantwell Protect College Sports Act that emerged from the Commerce Committee. He acknowledged senators will likely object to his bill but said the effort is worth making.
“They try to hit every facet out there, and it’s not going to work. It won’t pass,” Tuberville said of the Cruz-Cantwell bill. “Mine probably won’t pass, but at least we’re trying.”
Tuberville’s bill takes a stripped-down approach: five years of eligibility to play five seasons with no redshirt and no exceptions, plus a one-time transfer. He argued the Commerce Committee bill overreaches by wading into scheduling, conference realignment, and lawsuits, and criticized a proposed waiver committee he said would gut the eligibility standards.
“If you do that, we know what happens,” Tuberville said. “My grandmother had a cold my second year, and I’d go see her a couple times, so I get that year back. We can’t do that.”
The former Auburn head coach warned that without reform, universities will begin selling athletic programs to private equity firms, turning college sports into minor league operations. He said women’s sports, Olympic sports, and high school athletes will bear the heaviest cost.
“It’s become free agency is what it’s become, and pay per play,” Tuberville said. “You got teams this year spending $55, $60 million on their team.”
Tuberville said the fans will ultimately force a reckoning. He pointed to rising ticket prices, suite costs, and seat licensing as signs that the current model is unsustainable.
“If they keep buying these tickets at $300 a seat, suites for two or three million, I think it will continue on,” Tuberville said. “But sooner or later you’re going to look up in the stands and the cheap seats that really thrive and push college sports ain’t going to be there.”
Tuberville first introduced the Student Athlete Act earlier this year. The bill focuses strictly on eligibility standards rather than the broader regulatory framework other proposals have attempted.
Sawyer Knowles is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
