Throughout the college football and men’s and women’s basketball seasons, we’ll be highlighting key stories from the week in our Weekly Syllabus series.
Below, we examine the status of the Protect College Sports Act, College Football Playoff expansion and more.
Protect College Sports Act on hold… and in doubt
College sports officials are learning what most Americans have known for years: trust Congress at your own peril.
Over the weekend, the Senate went on summer recess before holding a vote on the Protect College Sports Act spearheaded by Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Maria Cantwell, leaving the legislation up in doubt when it comes to a vote in September.
Some congressmen have already expressed doubt, and the Associated Press also pointed to opposition from the Congressional Black Caucus and AFL-CIO that could sink the proposal.
“Its road is a long one,” recently wrote Yahoo Sports college sports insider Ross Dellenger. “Even if it passes the Senate, it must then move to the House of Representatives, where … leaders … have publicly criticized the legislation.”
College athletics leaders may want to consider not relying on the federal government to save their hides and instead figure out a solution themselves.
CFP expansion update
Most CFP expansion models consist of 16- or 24-team fields, but another has emerged as an (unlikely) possibility. One day after ESPN’s Josh Pate shared that some have floated a 20-team model with play-in games, insider Pete Thamel shared that officials had “no discussion” of the proposal during a Monday call.
“That idea faces a lot of headwinds,” Thamel wrote.