College Sports Needs More Than an Act of Congress

In this episode of the California Sports Lawyer Podcast, host Jeremy Evans analyzes how the Protect College Sports Act could significantly reshape college athletics. With the legislation placed on the U.S. Senate’s September calendar, its national standards could determine how schools, conferences, athletes, and governing associations approach compensation, eligibility, competition, and education. Jeremy discusses why support from the Big Ten and SEC matters, how limited antitrust protection could strengthen the enforcement of uniform rules, and why the Act may provide much-needed stability across college sports. The episode also explores name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation, revenue sharing, transfers, athlete eligibility, agent conduct, health and educational protections, athlete representation, and collective bargaining. As sports, education, business, labor, and law continue converging, the Protect College Sports Act could establish the most consequential national framework of the NIL era. Its ultimate effectiveness would still depend on courts defining legal boundaries, conferences and schools applying workable standards, and athletes having a meaningful voice. An act of Congress may not resolve every issue, but it could fundamentally change how college sports are governed and conducted. (Season 8, Episode 31). Copyright 2026. California Sports Lawyer. All Rights Reserved. (www.CSLlegal.com) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.