Alabama and Auburn are taking the same side on a college sports issue that’s drawing plenty of attention in Washington: both schools want lawmakers to reject the Protect College Sports Act in its current form.
The bill is being reviewed as Congress looks for ways to steady college athletics, but the leaders at Alabama and Auburn say the proposal doesn’t get to the heart of the problem. In their view, it falls short of what college sports needs and could end up pushing the biggest questions right back into the courts.
In a joint statement, the two schools said they support the broader goals behind the legislation, including protecting student-athletes, preserving women’s and Olympic sports, and creating a single national rulebook for competition. But they made it clear they don’t believe this version of the bill delivers on that promise.
“Auburn University and The University of Alabama both appreciate Congress’s attention to these challenges and share the goals of creating opportunities for and protecting student-athletes, sustaining women’s and Olympic sports, and promoting fair competition through a single, clear national set of rules. But this bill does not meet that standard. In its current form, it solves little of what genuinely challenges college athletics and leaves the central questions to the courts, inviting the very litigation it claims to prevent.”
The statement was signed by the Board of Trustees Presidents and the University Presidents at both schools.
Alabama and Auburn are not alone in pushing back. Other prominent SEC programs have also come out against the bill in recent weeks, and both the SEC and Big Ten have raised concerns about it as well.
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