Nick Saban and Tommy Tuberville may both want order in college sports, but they are not backing the same answer.
Saban is lined up behind the broader bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, a bill designed to rein in the chaos around NIL, the transfer portal, spiraling spending and the constant stream of lawsuits. Tuberville, meanwhile, is pushing a slimmer alternative, the Student Athlete Act, and says the other proposal goes too far with “too much government involvement” in the PCSA plan.
The Protect College Sports Act has a notable list of supporters beyond Saban. The bill is cosponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and has also drawn backing from Deion Sanders of Colorado, along with basketball coaches John Calipari of Arkansas and Mark Few of Gonzaga.
At a news conference in Washington on Monday, the eve of the vote, Calipari called the measure a meaningful step, even if it falls short of perfect.
“I think this clears up about 75-80% of our issues,” Calipari said. “Nothing is perfect. This is a bite out of the apple.”
Saban framed his support in broader terms, arguing the bill would bring an end to what he sees as the current mess in college athletics.
“The Protect College Sports Act ends the NIL chaos in college athletics by protecting our student athletes and teams, and safeguarding women’s sports and Olympic programs. Join the winning team today, and help congress protect this winning tradition,” Saban said.
But the politics of the vote get more complicated from there. All four Black Democrats in the Senate - Cory Booker, Raphael Warnock, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Angela Alsobrooks - voted against the bill. The NAACP also opposes it.
That does not mean Booker, Warnock, Rochester, Alsobrooks and the NAACP are simply standing with Tuberville against Saban.
Tuberville’s proposal is narrower, but it shares some ground with the bipartisan bill. Under his plan, athletes would get five consecutive years to compete for five seasons, with one transfer allowed without penalty.
A second transfer would cost a season of eligibility. The NCAA would be responsible for enforcing the rules.
Those pieces are also part of the Saban-backed measure.
The objections from Booker and the NAACP go to what they see as the larger power structure. Booker says the bill gives the NCAA too much authority and does not provide enough protection for student-athletes. He also argues it rolls back some of the leverage athletes have gained through antitrust litigation.
The NAACP’s criticism is sharper still. Its concern centers on the fact that Black athletes make up a large share of the players generating revenue in major college football, while universities, conferences and administrators keep most of the power. The organization says some parts of the bill are worthwhile - including the scholarship, health-care, agent and safety provisions - but not enough to justify the protections the bill extends to universities and conferences.
So the fight is not as simple as Saban versus Tuberville, or pro-athlete versus anti-athlete. The question hanging over the bill is what exactly it protects: athletes, college sports from athletes, or athletes from themselves.
In Other News...
Auburns SEC Opener Exposed A Problem Tigers Cant Ignore
Auburns SEC opener in Gainesville brought the kind of reality check that can linger well beyond one September afternoon. The Tigers fell 44-39 to Florida, and while the final margin suggested a game that stayed within reach, the bigger concern was how often Auburns defense had no answer when the Gators needed it most. Florida moved the ball with too much ease on key downs, and Auburns offense, while capable of making things interesting late, never found the kind of steady rhythm that can carry a team in conference play.
For head coach Alex Golesh, it was the first major SEC test of his tenure, and it exposed how much work still remains. Auburn is now 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the league, with a loss that leaves both sides of the ball under scrutiny. The defenses inability to get off the field and the offenses inconsistency are problems that cant be brushed aside, especially with the conference schedule now in motion and no shortage of tougher nights ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns Coaching Choice Already Looks Worse Than Fans Feared
Auburns coaching search ended with Alex Golesh, but the early returns around the SEC have only sharpened the debate over what the Tigers passed up. Jon Sumrall landed at Florida instead, and the Gators have already shown why his name carried so much momentum. Between Floridas win over Auburn and Sumralls strong first impression as an SEC head coach, the contrast has been hard for Tigers fans to ignore.
For Auburn, the frustration has come with familiar problems on the field, especially on defense, where the Tigers have continued to struggle as Golesh gets his footing. Sumrall, meanwhile, has looked like a coach who brought immediate structure and energy to his new job, giving Florida a clean early narrative while Auburn is still searching for one. The race is still young, but the first chapter has not been kind to the Tigers' choice. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns Supposed Strength Suddenly Looks Like A Serious SEC Concern
Auburns defense, the unit that was supposed to travel as a strength, had a rough afternoon against Florida and left plenty of questions behind. The Tigers gave up 44 points and 243 rushing yards in a game that exposed missed tackles and misalignments, two issues that coach Alex Golesh and linebacker Elijah Melendez both pointed to afterward as the kind of breakdowns that cannot linger in SEC play.
Under DJ Durkin, the outing also came with several defensive milestones Auburn would rather not celebrate, a reminder that one bad game can quickly change the conversation around a teams identity. Auburn fell to 2-1 while Florida moved to 3-0, and the challenge now is whether the Tigers can clean up the details fast enough before opponents start treating that film like a roadmap. [Read more 🡒]