(The Center Square) – Regulation of college sports, potentially corralling a volatile period of amateur athletes zooming forward with multi-million dollar deals and major conferences expanding their footprints as valued TV properties, includes the support of both North Carolinians in the U.S. Senate.
Protect College Sports Act of 2026, known also as Senate Bill 4663, passed 77-22 Monday evening and next gets a stop at the House of Representatives. That chamber is unlikely to take up the proposal until after the midterm elections, and potentially not until the 120th Congress is seated in January – meaning this one would be dead and a new or reintroduced one needed.
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