Trump says soaring college football costs are hitting sports
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday (March 6) said the soaring cost of paying for football at colleges was harming school sports in general and the problem would need to be addressed by legislation, adding he might sign an executive order about it.
- President Donald Trump is urging the Senate to pass the Protect College Sports Act before its current session ends.
- The bipartisan bill has gained new co-sponsors, including senators from Colorado and Nebraska.
- The Congressional Black Caucus has voiced its opposition to the proposed legislation.
The clock is ticking on the current session of the United States Senate, and President Donald Trump is urging Senators to remain in Washington, D.C., to pass the Protect College Sports Act.
In a social media post Friday, Aug. 7, Trump said the following:
“THE PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT is a great Bill, and the Senate will hopefully stay in D.C. until it passes,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account, which also was reposted on X — the former Twitter platform. “Without this Bill, millions of young Athletes will be hurt, programs will be canceled, Women’s and Olympic Sports will go away, the fans will be robbed, and Universities will go broke. Nobody has done more to protect Women Athletes than me — and this Bill CLEARLY protects the Laws in 27 States protecting Women’s Sports, and banning Men from Women’s Sports.
“Anyone who tells you differently is LYING! Stop grandstanding, and try getting this done. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
The bipartisan bill, which features a host of co-sponsors first organized by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Eric Schmitt (R-Texas) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), added new co-sponsors late in the week via Colorado’s John Hickenlooper (D-Col.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.).
Cruz released a statement to USA TODAY Sports after Trump’s post.
“Twenty-seven states, including Texas, have enacted laws that keep men out of women’s sports,” the statement said. “Those who claim the Protect College Sports Act would change these laws are straight-up wrong. The bill explicitly protects girls’ sports and enhances the protections established under Title IX. This legislation is about protecting hundreds of thousands of student athletes, including women who are seeing their sports canceled year after year. The Protect College Sports Act is landmark, bipartisan legislation that will end the chaos in college athletics. President Trump understands this and wants the bill on his desk. I urge my colleagues to get it to him as soon as possible.”
The final wording on the 171-page bill, a copy of which USA TODAY Sports obtained, was sent to Senators late on Monday, August 3, and into the morning hours of Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-Wash.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) also recently joined as co-sponsors of the bill.
Throughout Friday, Aug. 7, multiple Senators moved to add amendments to the bill during its debate on the floor; also this week, the Congressional Black Caucus voiced its staunch opposition to the proposed legislation.
Sen. Cruz, however, late Thursday, Aug. 9, called for his Senate colleagues to carry forth the bill.
“Momentum continues to grow for the Protect College Sports Act. With the start of the school year around the corner, the time to pass this bill through the Senate and House and send it to President Trump’s desk is now,” Cruz said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports. “The Protect College Sports Act, which notably has the backing of 28 collegiate conferences, is our last best chance to preserve one of America’s great unifying traditions for the athletes who compete and the fans who fill the stands. I thank Senators Ricketts and Hickenlooper for co-sponsoring this landmark, bipartisan bill, and I look forward to its overwhelming passage on the Senate floor.”