It's Crunch Time for a College Sports Deal

Two U.S. senators are racing against the clock to save a bill about college sports. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington want Congress to pass the Protect College Sports Act before lawmakers leave for their summer break. The bill would create new federal rules for college athletics, but two of the most powerful sports conferences in the country are not yet on board.

The bill passed out of a Senate committee last month by a vote of 19 to 9. Seven Democrats crossed party lines to support it, which seemed like a good sign. But the bill still needs more votes to become law, and winning those votes has not been easy.

The two holdouts are the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference, also known as the SEC. These are the two biggest and most powerful college sports conferences in the United States. They have been pushing back on several parts of the bill that they say don't work for them.

One big disagreement is about media rights — meaning the deals that decide which TV networks get to show college games. The bill would let conferences work together to sell those deals, but the SEC and Big Ten want a special rule for post-season games. They also want stronger protections against certain lawsuits, and so far those changes have not made it into the bill.

Senators and their staff have been working around the clock to try to make a deal. On Wednesday morning, the conferences missed a 9 a.m. deadline to respond to a new version of the bill. Then lawmakers sent out another updated version at 1 a.m., with a new 10 a.m. deadline — and that one passed without a deal, too.

The latest version of the bill does include some small changes. For example, it raises a pool of money used to help keep student athletes from $20 million to $22.5 million. But lobbyists — people paid to influence political decisions — say the conferences still haven't gotten what they really need.

Senate aides say they have already made major compromises and have worked in good faith. But the conferences say the most important changes are still missing from the bill. Both sides say they want a deal, but they haven't been able to agree yet.

Not everyone is giving up hope. Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado said he believes the conferences will come around. "I think it's a lot closer than what people think," he said, adding that a lot of progress has been made on the issues that matter most to him.

Even with progress, the bill still faces big challenges. Senators say they would need 60 votes to pass the bill, and that would be very hard without the Big Ten and SEC on board. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has spoken out strongly against the bill, partly because Auburn University — where he once coached football — is opposed to it.

Time is running very short. The Senate is set to leave Washington for its August recess next week. If a deal isn't reached in the next day or two, the bill may have to wait until fall — and there's no guarantee it will come back up for a vote then either.