Good morning! 

  

Friday, Alaine and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary—a day of tremendous personal gratitude for both of us. 

Friday also marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States. On a date that carries both personal joy and national sorrow, perspective is especially important. We remember those who lost their lives, the families and friends who continue to carry that loss, and the countless individuals whose lives have forever changed. 

The Big West has its own connection to that tragic day through Mari-Rae Sopper, who was aboard American Airlines Flight 77 while traveling to Santa Barbara to begin her duties as head coach of the UC Santa Barbara women’s gymnastics program: 

Mark Patton: Remembering the Day UCSB Lost a Devoted Coach to the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks 

Mari-Rae Sopper was aboard American Airlines Flight 77 — en route to Santa Barbara to coach gymnastics — when she died after terrorists hijacked the plane and crashed it into the Pentagon  (LINK) 

  

I hope each of you took a few moments last week to remember the tragedy of September 11, reflect upon the patriotism and shared spirit evident in the days that followed, and consider how our nation might once again move beyond its political divisions for the betterment of our country. 

That need for cooperation is also evident—on a far different scale—in college athletics. 

Attention has been focused heavily on the Protect College Sports Act, which could receive Senate consideration as early as this week. Senators, commissioners, NCAA staff, lobbyists, presidents, chancellors and student-athletes have participated in multiple meetings as support for the legislation is mobilized. At the same time, courts across the country continue to issue consequential—and sometimes conflicting—rulings involving NCAA eligibility rules. 

Many of the decisions that will determine the future of college athletics are now being made outside the NCAA’s traditional governance structure—through Congress, courtrooms and state legislatures. 

That reality is particularly important for The Big West. A governance structure increasingly dependent upon CFP-4 weighted voting and limited representation means our conference is not currently represented on the NCAA Cabinet, Division I Board of Directors or Board of Governors. We must therefore remain engaged, seek information aggressively, and ensure that the interests of our institutions and student-athletes are heard wherever decisions are made. 

After a week filled with legislation, litigation and more than a little uncertainty, the song of the week seems obvious: Billy Joel’s  "We Didn't Start the Fire", with a twist.  

With apologies to Billy Joel—and to anyone now hearing a familiar tune in their head—the past several months in college athletics have occasionally felt less like thoughtful policymaking and more like a rapid-fire catalog of legislation, litigation and unintended consequences. 

The Big West did not create this disorder, but we certainly have been required to understand it.  

Therefore, in the very bold spirit of “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” here is a little fun to reflect on the past couple of years and to begin The Bold Type: 

  

We Didn’t Make This Mess (LINK TO INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC – LINK) 

Congress talking, courts deciding, 
Transfer windows constantly sliding. 
Roster limits, revenue sharing, 
Nobody knows which rule we’re wearing. 

  

NIL and collectives, 
Temporary directives. 
Another lawsuit, another stay, 
Yesterday’s answer changed today. 

  

Five-year clocks and eligibility, 
State-law incompatibility. 
House settlement, back-pay claims, 
Different standards, different games. 

  

Judge’s ruling, lawyers filing, 
Administrators somehow smiling. 
Briefings Monday, changes Tuesday, 
New injunction by late Thursday. 

  

No, The Big West didn’t make this mess. 
But we read every ruling, 
Track every revision 
And explain what it means 
When somebody makes a decision. 

  

No, The Big West didn’t make this mess. 
While the lawsuits keep arriving, 
We’ll keep learning, leading 
And somehow keep surviving. 

  

Power votes and governance, 
Requests for Congressional confidence. 
National standards, local laws, 
Unintended consequences in every clause. 

  

Employment status, antitrust, 
“Trust the process”—yes, we must. 
Medical waivers, seasons restored, 
Another emergency meeting of the Board. 

  

Automatic qualification, 
Conference realignment migration. 
Opt in, opt out, sign the form— 
Then wait to see if that’s still the norm. 

  

One court says yes, one court says no, 
One says, “We’ll decide before you go.” 
Appeals are filed, the briefs expand, 
And everyone claims it went as planned. 

  

No, The Big West didn’t make this mess. 
But we read every ruling, 
Track every revision 
And explain what it means 
When somebody makes a decision. 

  

No, The Big West didn’t make this mess. 
We didn’t choose the confusion, 
But we’ll protect our institutions 
And keep searching for solutions. 

  

So here we are, another week, 
Another answer we must seek. 
The games go on, our purpose stays— 
Supporting athletes through changing days. 

  

The landscape shifts, the headlines shout, 
Some rules go in, some rules go out. 
But from the ocean to the mountain crest, 
We’ll keep doing what The Big West does best. 

  

No, The Big West didn’t make this mess. 
But through every complication, 
We’ll keep offering leadership, 
Clarity and education. 

  

No, The Big West didn’t make this mess. 
And until there’s resolution, 
We’ll bring patience, perspective— 
And perhaps some comic relief. 

  

Let’s get to This Week in The Big West! 

 

   FROM THE CAGE TO CAPITOL HILL: CSUN'S MARIN BYERS TO REPRESENT THE BIG WEST IN WASHINGTON, D.C.   

A summer spent serving constituents in Sacramento is comimg full circle for CSUN women’s water polo goalkeeper Marin Byars, who on Capitol Hill today to represent The Big West in a national conversation surrounding the future of college athletics.  Read more >>>  

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   THE BIG WEST – IN CASE YOU MISSED IT   

Chloe Clark highlights some upsets, statement wins and serious highlights from the weekend: 

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   CONGRATULATIONS!  
 

• To Utah Valley men's soccer for their Big Win at No. 20 Marshall on Friday as the Wolverines got the 2-1 road victory in Huntington, West Virginia over the 2024 NCAA runners-up. Watch the highlights >>> 

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• To UC Irvine women’s soccer alumna Scarlett Camberos who was named a 2026 Women's Ballon d’Or (most prestigious individual honor in professional soccer) nominee!! Read more >>> 
• To California Baptist women’s soccer, as The Lancers have started the year with five consecutive shutouts, counting as the most consecutive in program history!  
• To UC Santa Barbara men’s soccer ranked No. 23, and Utah Valley for receiving votes in latest United Soccer Coaches national rankings! 
• To Cal Poly women's volleyball for receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll!
• To our men’s water polo programs nationally ranked in the latest CWPA varsity poll! 
  • 7. Long Beach State
  • 8. UC San Diego
  • 13. UC Irvine
  • 14. UC Santa Barbara
  • 16. California Baptist 
• And to our Athleres/Players of the Week! 
  • Women's Soccer - Cassie Villanueva, Cal State Fullerton (offensive); Mia Owens, Utah Valley (defensive); Maya Yoshimura, California Baptist (rookie) 
  • Men's Soccer - Steinar Bjornsson, UC Santa Barbara (offensive); Filip Arras, Cal State Bakersfield (defensive); Lorimer Bouman, Cal State Bakersfield (rookie) 
  • Women's Volleyball - Victoria Marthaler, Sacramento State (offensive); Skyler Gartin, Sacramento State (defensive); Madi Maxwell, Long Beach State (setter); Nalanie Neal, California Baptist (rookie) 
  • Cross Country - Yemane Mulugeta, California Baptist (men); Caren Kipsirat, Utah Valley (women) 
  • Men's Water Polo - Luigi Canepa, UC Santa Barbara 

 

 

   “JOURNEY OUT WEST” WITH DAN TORTORA   

Friday's episode of “Journey Out West” with Dan Tortora featured Simone Ferrieri, men’s soccer student-athlete from UC Santa Barbara.

Next week, women’s basketball coach Ray Alvarado from Cal State Bakersfield will be the featured guest. Wake Up Call starts at 6 a.m. PT daily, with Journey Out West each Friday. MIXLR Internet Radio | YouTube | Facebook 

   #TEAMJENIKA   

UC Irvine placed a meaningful spotlight on forward Jenika Davis when the Anteaters hosted San Diego for their Cancer Awareness Game on Thursday. Davis was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in 2022 before returning to the pitch in 2024 and being named a team captain ahead of the 2026 season. 

Leading into the match, UC Irvine released the final interview of its Cancer Awareness Campaign, allowing Davis to reflect on the journey, return to competition, and the support behind #TeamJenika. Read more here. 

 

   BIG WEST INTERNATIONAL   

The Big West on Thursday announced the launch of Big West International, a significant expansion of the conference's media distribution that gives fans outside the United States access to live and on-demand competition throughout the 2026-27 season.    

The new platform extends The Big West's reach from a national audience to an international one. Big West institutions now may designate any event they produce for ESPN+ for international distribution, creating the potential for more than 1,200 events annually across the conference's broad-based sports program to be available to viewers around the world.  

In the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America, selected events carried on ESPN+ in the United States will be available through Disney+ International. In all other international territories, selected live and on-demand events will be available through SIDEARM Sports at BigWest.org/Watch. 

Fans outside the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America may subscribe at BigWest.org/Watch for $129 annually, $12.99 per month or $6.99 for a single day. Annual and monthly subscriptions are renewed automatically. Selected events are available now.  Read more >>> 

 

   BIG WEST CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS TICKETS   

Tickets are available now for the 2026 Big West Cross Country Championships on October 31 at the Ag/Ops Course near the campus of UC Riverside. General admission tickets are $12 for adults during the current presale. General admission tickets are $14 on race day. The meet starts with the men’s 8K race at 8:30 a.m. followed by the women’s 6K race scheduled for 9:15 a.m. Click HERE for more information. 

 

   TUESDAY - NCAA GOVERNMENT RELATIONS MEETING - PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT: A CRITICAL WEEK AHEAD   

The urgency surrounding federal college sports legislation continues to grow as courts across the country issue conflicting decisions affecting student-athlete eligibility. 

During a briefing last week with Division I commissioners, NCAA legal and government relations staff outlined both the expanding litigation confronting college athletics and the latest movement surrounding the Protect College Sports Act. 

The NCAA reported that hundreds of student-athletes are now involved in legal challenges to eligibility rules. As of last Tuesday, 347 student-athletes have received some form of court-ordered relief, while 265 have been denied relief. In many instances, temporary injunctions have been issued by state courts before the NCAA has had an opportunity to respond. 

The challenges extend beyond whether the new age-based eligibility model should be applied retroactively. Lawsuits also question how junior college and NAIA participation should be treated; how previous professional competition affects eligibility and whether student-athletes should receive additional seasons beyond the traditional five-year period. 

In one recent case, a former college basketball student-athlete who voluntarily left college, entered the NBA and participated in multiple NBA preseason games was permitted by a state court to return to college competition. These increasingly inconsistent decisions make it extraordinarily difficult to administer national eligibility standards or maintain competitive equity when a student-athlete’s eligibility may depend upon the court—and the state—in which a lawsuit is filed. 

The NCAA has been largely successful when these cases have reached federal appellate courts. However, the immediate disruption created by temporary state-court orders continues to affect student-athletes, teams, conferences and championships. 

That legal environment is an important reason the Protect College Sports Act has taken on greater significance. 

The bipartisan legislation, sponsored by Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, advanced from the committee in June by a 19–9 vote, including support from six Democrats. Eight additional senators have joined as co-sponsors, and the legislation could receive Senate consideration soon after senators return to Washington on September 14. 

The NCAA believes the legislation currently represents college athletics’ best opportunity to establish a sustainable national framework. Among its most important provisions, the bill would: 

• Provide narrowly tailored antitrust protection for national eligibility and transfer rules. 

• Establish one national standard by preempting the growing collection of conflicting state NIL and college athletics laws. 

• Stabilize rules governing eligibility, transfers and revenue sharing. 

• Codify academic, health, wellness and scholarship protections for student-athletes. 

• Strengthen oversight of agents and other third parties operating within college athletics. 

• Reinforce that nothing in the legislation supersedes or changes the application of Title IX. 

• Prevent private-equity interests from organizing a separate “super league”; and 

• Provide approximately $900 million in support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. 

The latest draft also clarifies that the five-year age-based eligibility model would apply only to Divisions I and II and includes basketball-specific language defining professional status. In addition, payments from “associated entities” under the House settlement would be included within the benefits cap, accompanied by new mechanisms intended to support student-athlete retention and non-revenue-producing sports. 

One new provision declares it the policy of the United States that institutions should prioritize opportunities for domestic student-athletes. NCAA representatives emphasized that the provision is neither specific nor binding. Nevertheless, this language deserves careful attention, particularly within The Big West, where international student-athletes are important members of our campus communities and competitive programs. 

Several matters remain under discussion, including potential language addressing transgender student-athlete participation. Those negotiations could affect the coalition supporting the legislation when it reaches the Senate floor. 

Sponsors have expressed confidence that they can secure the 60 votes required for Senate passage and are working toward an even stronger bipartisan margin. All 32 Division I conferences, along with the Division II and Division III conference associations, are supporting the legislation. Coaches associations, compliance organizations, the United Negro College Fund and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund also have joined the effort. 

If the Senate approves the bill, attention would turn immediately to the House of Representatives. A strong bipartisan Senate vote, combined with support from the White House, could create momentum for House action, although important differences between the chambers would still need to be resolved. 

No legislation of this complexity will satisfy every constituency or answer every question. However, the status quo—under which national college athletics rules are effectively rewritten through individual lawsuits and conflicting state-court decisions—is neither workable nor sustainable. 

College sports needs clear and enforceable national standards. The coming days may determine whether Congress is finally prepared to provide them. 

  

 

   WEDNESDAY - MID-MAJOR CONFERENCE COALITION: FROM SUPPORT TO ACTION   

The Protect College Sports Act is approaching a critical procedural window in the United States Senate. 

When senators return to Washington on September 14, Senate leadership may schedule a vote between September 15 and September 23 on whether to proceed with consideration of the legislation. That initial cloture vote requires 60 votes. If the motion succeeds, final passage would require a simple majority. 

The bill’s sponsors have expressed confidence that sufficient support exists, but the timing remains uncertain. The legislation is expected to follow Senate consideration of a cryptocurrency bill. If that measure is delayed, the Protect College Sports Act could move to the front of the agenda with little advance notice. 

Against that backdrop, the Mid-Major Conference Coalition has moved from expressing general support to direct advocacy. Commissioners are contacting senators and their staffs, encouraging institutional leaders to reinforce that support and explaining how continued instability affects campuses throughout Division I—not only the largest and wealthiest athletics programs. 

The Big West has encouraged its presidents, chancellors and directors of athletics to communicate with senators representing California and Utah. Our message is straightforward: Congress must establish a national framework that protects student-athletes, preserves broad-based athletics opportunities and allows institutions and conferences to administer consistent rules. 

Our student-athletes are adding their voices. At their own doing, members of The Big West Student-Athlete Advisory Committee are sending letters to California Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff emphasizing the importance of preserving opportunities across men’s, women’s, Olympic, emerging and non-revenue sports; protecting academics and student-athlete health and safety; and allowing student-athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness while establishing safeguards against exploitation.  

In addition, Marin Byars, The Big West SAAC President and a women’s water polo student-athlete at CSUN, will represent the conference during a September 14 event with Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell on Capitol Hill. 

As our SAAC representatives wrote, “We are committed to leaving college athletics better than we found it—for the high school students who are just beginning to consider this path and for the generations of student-athletes who will follow.” 

Those student athletes may be the most important voices in this debate. They are reminding Congress what is ultimately at stake: the opportunity for future generations to receive an education, represent their institutions and compete within a national system governed by clear and consistent rules. 

  

 

   THURSDAY - PCSA NEGOTIATIONS: THREE ISSUES TO WATCH   

Negotiations surrounding the Protect College Sports Act continued last week, with NCAA Government Relations staff reporting Thursday morning progress on two important issues while a third appears likely to remain unchanged. 

• First, the offices of Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell appear to have reached general agreement on narrowly written language addressing concerns about the bill’s interaction with state laws governing transgender student-athlete participation. The proposed amendment is intended to resolve those concerns without introducing broader language that could fracture the bill’s bipartisan coalition. Although final language has not been released, the development could restore support from several Republican senators who had expressed reservations. 

• Second, negotiators are considering whether certain provisions of the legislation should apply to lawsuits already pending when the bill becomes law. The developing language is expected to address two specific categories: challenges seeking to invalidate the revenue-sharing cap and lawsuits seeking more than five total years of collegiate eligibility. 

This would not resolve every pending eligibility case. Many of the current lawsuits raise different questions regarding junior college participation, professional experience and the application of the new age-based eligibility model. Nevertheless, expressly addressing these two categories could provide greater stability in areas facing substantial and immediate legal pressure. The details will be critical, and no final language has been made available. 

• Third, discussions have not produced an agreement to change the bill’s provisions governing conference realignment and expansion. NCAA staff currently expect that portion of the legislation to remain substantially as written. 

The broad questions surrounding the legislation have not changed. However, with negotiations narrowing and student-athletes preparing to make their case directly to Congress, the path toward a Senate vote is becoming clearer. 

  
   MEDIA REPORTS ON THE BIG WEST, NCAA,  LEGAL AND LEGISLATIVE UPDATES   

• Hawai’i AD Matt Elliott joins the ESPN Honolulu’s Let’s Talk Sports podcast to discuss stadium and fan experience upgrades, outline the financial rationale behind a proposed student athletics fee increase and more. Key note… 
  • Proposing an athletics fee increase from $50- to $125-per-student per semester to address stagnant rates: "I understand absolutely the economy is hard. Every student, every dollar matters to them, but we have not changed this fee since 2011. For 15 years for that to have sat static and not increased doesn't really reflect the true costs of running a department and all the benefits that it provides back to the university. So, we are asking for an increase. … Our fee right now is the lowest in the Mountain West, the lowest in the Big West, and it's not even close to the average. We'll still be below the average even with this recommended increase." (link) 
• UC Riverside AD Greg Paules outlined his initial priorities six months into his tenure, highlighting facility upgrades, staffing milestones, and the men's soccer program's new Pac-12 affiliation. After joining the program from Cal State Fullerton, Paules finalized a 75-person department with 10 head coaches following the hire of Baseball HC Greg Wallis. The Highlanders recently installed safety netting at the softball field and a new video board inside the Student Recreation Center, while pursuing donor support for future batting cages and weight room renovations. Paules also helped establish the Crosstown Showdown rivalry series with Cal Baptist, an initiative backed by Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson. More from Paules… 
  • "I’m just trying to dive in, learn as much as I can, see where I can help in the short term, and then set us up for long-term success." 
  • "There’s good bones in our facilities, but we’ve just got to realize some of these opportunities and I think that will aid in our competitiveness and our fan experience." 
  • "Our opportunity to represent not only UC Riverside but this Inland Empire community is right there for the taking. I don’t just want us to get a little bit better on the margins. I want us to try and shoot for the stars and see where we end up." (link) 
• Minnesota AD Mark Coyle has informed the UMN Board of Regents that the athletics department is projecting a nearly $9M deficit for the second straight year. Per the Twin Cities Pioneer Press’ Andy Greder, the shortfalls result from the first and second year of House settlement payments. (link)   
• “The End of Booze & The Age of Cannabis”.  Navigating the generational shift in substance use and its impact on the collegiate landscape. (LINK) 
• NCAA President Charlie Baker sat down with The Pivot Podcast for a wide-ranging discussion on topics such as revenue-sharing implementation, athlete-welfare guarantees, sports wagering regulations, the expansion of women's sports and more. Here’s what you need to know…  
  • On the litany of eligibility lawsuits and former professionals coming back to college: “I know a lot about state government. It's been very interesting to see my old stomping ground come back and stomp me in the face. … I think it would've been naive for us to assume that if we figured out a way to create revenue sharing in the high revenue DI sports, that there wouldn't be schools and kids who would want to play forever. Why not, right? The problem with that is you steal opportunities from the kids who are behind you. ... The idea that you can then come back and play against the 93% who are never going to see a seat on a professional football team and get an extra year as a result of that. … I do blame the adults for encouraging this." 
  • On portal transparency tools: "We're going to try and put a universally available website up that will have what actually happens to everybody who enters the portal. Because I think there's a tremendous amount of misrepresentation going on, primarily with third parties and others who are saying to kids, ‘If you get in the portal, we can get you a much better opportunity somewhere else.’ I would love that student-athlete to be able to go online and say, ‘let's see what happened to the guys I played against last year who were kind of like me. Where did they land? How much are they playing?’” 
  • Asked about the prospect of unionization: “I guess what I would say is if that's where people eventually want to go, fine, free country, help yourself. Make sure the kids want to go there too because there's some debate. Most of the kids I talk to don't want that. But the other thing that has to happen in the meantime is we got over the revenue sharing hump. We're there. … To me, let's try to see if we can't get that right and then people can have a conversation about what else they might want to do to organize it going forward. But to me, the hard part, that's the other thing, is in professional sports, the commissioners are given a significant amount of authority to create a structure and enforce it, made more visible than ever by what just happened in the NBA today or yesterday. The conference is really the thing most people identify with in collegiate sports. … I think that's probably the hardest part you got to climb over is just the scale.” 
  • Establishing revenue sharing mechanisms and long-term scholarship guarantees: "I was thinking to myself the only people who can't talk to student-athletes at this point about revenue sharing are the schools which seems wrong. ... So, I made the first proposal on creating a school-based rev-share program and that eventually morphed its way into the settlement of several long outstanding legal cases so that we had a long overdue opportunity to put in place an actual mechanism that would give schools the ability to share revenue with student-athletes. ... We also put core guarantees in for the Division I kids, so if you get a scholarship, you keep it whether you choose to play or not. You can’t run anybody off anymore. And you keep that for 10 years or as long as it takes you to graduate." 
  • On post-eligibility injury insurance and sports betting harassment monitoring: "We have a post-eligibility health insurance program in place now for kids across all three divisions. If they get hurt playing their sport and are still in treatment after they leave school, that lasts for two years. And if, God forbid, anybody's got $90K worth of expenses after they leave school, they convert automatically into the catastrophic plan, which will cover them until they get better. … We are the only league I'm aware of that actually tracks social media traffic that's being directed at players and coaches and officials during our championships. And if we see abusive behavior in there, we notify the platforms and tell them to shut those people off." (link) 
• The implementation of student-athlete revenue sharing has resulted in significant administrative and operational shifts across regional athletic departments, per the Cincinnati Business Courier’s Steve Watkins, who notes such changes prompted Xavier to nearly triple its men’s basketball payroll to over $14M after a 15-18 campaign linked to bottom-tier spending. The school financed its expanded roster budget through alumni fundraising, ticket sales, internal reallocations and commercial ventures like its Muskie Lager partnership with Cincinnati Beverage Co. (link) 
• The tension between LSU and the SEC extends beyond recent roster disputes to reveal a fundamental shift in the university's leadership dynamic, according to ESPN's Dan Wetzel, who posits that league administrators fear the athletic department is ideologically governed by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry rather than President Wade Rousse or AD Verge Ausberry, thereby introducing political motives that favor public conflict over conference compromise. As LSU continually tests league boundaries under Football HC Lane Kiffin and Men's Basketball HC Will Wade, SEC leaders question whether campus administrators hold any real authority over their programs. (link)   
• With the Senate set to return to Washington for a three-week legislation window before departing until November, Politico’s Calen Razo, Kelsey Brugger and Jacob Wendler observe that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is about to step into a political minefield with the body preparing to take up the Protect College Sports Act as soon as next week – with perhaps as many reasons for his caucus to oppose it as support it. Schumer will need to decide if he wants to steer his members toward helping Republicans reach the 60-vote threshold. One Democratic Senate aide with knowledge of the negotiations believes there’s enough party opposition to tank the measure on the floor as a coalition of labor rights groups and the Congressional Black Caucus warn the bill is exploitative. “A good number of Democratic offices aren’t eager to tick off the AFL-CIO and NAACP, screw over college athletes and deliver Trump and Senate Republicans a major political win weeks before midterms. Bad policy. Terrible politics.” (link) 
• Politico reporter Jacob Wendler via X: “[New York] Yankees President Randy Levine tells me he's feeling ‘good’ about the upcoming floor vote for [Protect College Sports Act], but he's ‘not overconfident’: ‘The game's not over till the scoreboard rings. The bill's not perfect,’ adding that it addresses around 80% of his concerns, but he says ‘it's a lot better than where we are.’ On the bill's critics: ‘There are reasons that people want to kill this bill for sure, and they're using excuses. There are people on the right who continue to try and muddle the water, saying that this bill will, in effect, overrule state laws that prohibit men from playing in women's sports, and that's just not true.’” (link) 
• Lobbying for the Protect College Sports Act is in full swing ahead of an expected Senate vote process next week, per Ross Dellenger, who writing for On3, points to the multi-million dollar, “Saving College Sports” ad campaign featuring former Alabama HC/current ESPN College GameDay analyst Nick Saban and current Colorado HC Deion Sanders as the most visible effort. Here’s what you need to know… 
  • Lawmakers, White House representatives and industry stakeholders have been meeting weekly to discuss progress and publicly pushing the legislation as a pep rally is planned for Monday on Capitol Hill with college administrators and student-athletes. 
  • Dellenger: “If the Senate does adopt the legislation, can President Trump, an ardent supporter of the bill’s passage, convince House leadership to remain in session to take up the act? Though it’s a long shot, there is a shot – if the Senate can pass the legislation by a wide majority (probably more than 70 votes).” (link) 
• More than 90 organizations spent $31.4M in total Q2 lobbying efforts on behalf of the Protect College Sports Act, per Open Secrets’ Joedy McCreary, who notes that Texas Tech Board of Regents Chair Cody Campbell’s Saving College Sports nonprofit has led the advocacy push with the Senate preparing for a vote between September 15-26. Out of $820K in total lobbying dollars since its formation, Campbell’s group spent $190K during Q2. Lobbying participation has ranged from some of the biggest brands at college sports’ highest level (Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame) to Group of Six programs to the National Association of Broadcasters and NCTA – the Internet and Television Association. Oregon Sports Law Program Director David Weber outlined the financial dynamics driving the bill: “Right now, I think the posture is, the NCAA is just trying to figure out how they can reassert some sort of control over this sport. And athletes are trying to keep their gains. ... The group that’s most disadvantaged by these new limitations would be the athletes who have been earning more money on the open market from their NIL … and by being able to have a little bit more freedom of choice to where they want to play.” (link)