What the Midterms Mean for the Future of the Protect College Sports Act
By Alexander L. Ballard
With the bill looking increasingly likely to stall in Congress, swimmers have a window to weigh in on what a new college sports law should protect before the next draft is written.
Democrats won both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, and that puts the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA) on a clock. The Senate passed the bill, 77 to 22, in September, but the House has not voted on it, and there is little sign of a vote before this Congress ends on January 3. The House returns next week with a December 11 government-funding deadline and unresolved Republican objections over whether athletes can be classified as employees, and the bill will not carry over if it stalls. Any new version would then start over under a Democratic House.
For swimmers, the part of the bill that matters most is a floor on roster spots and scholarships in non-revenue sports. It would require larger schools to keep their total spots and scholarships at 2024-25 levels, but it does not require them to keep any particular sport, so a school could drop swimming and keep its numbers by adding spots elsewhere. The floor also covers only schools above a revenue level, and it expires after nine years for the largest schools and four for the next tier.
Marshall University shows how that could play out. It announced in February that it would cut women’s swimming and diving and add stunt, citing cost and facilities that did not meet NCAA standards, and it reversed the decision in March after swimmers sued and its president cited Title IX risk and the cost of a long lawsuit, the Associated Press reported. A school covered by the floor could make the same choice, since the floor counts spots and not teams, athletes could not sue to enforce it, and it does not pay for pool upgrades.
The trade behind the floor is what the next Congress will argue about. Schools and the NCAA would get protection from certain antitrust lawsuits, and athletes would get an ombudsman, a third of the seats on certain rule-making boards, and a right to sue over some violations. Critics from both parties disagree about what is missing, with some wanting athletes kept from being classified as employees and others wanting a path to bargaining.
With a stall becoming increasingly likely, the next version would be written in the new Congress, and the time to shape it is now, before positions harden. Swimmers, coaches and parents can contact their U.S. representative and senators, whichever party they belong to, and ask what they want a new bill to look like.
Those conversations can start with a few things to weigh. One is whether a roster floor should protect individual teams or only totals. Another is whether athletes outside football and basketball will have seats where the rules are written. A third is whether schools should receive antitrust protection without giving athletes a way to negotiate, and a fourth is whether any floor should come with money for facilities, since cost is what put Marshall’s team at risk. How Congress answers those questions will decide whether swimmers keep a place in college sports.
Alexander L. Ballard is a J.D. Candidate, 2027, Northeastern University School of Law, concentrating in sports law. He is a former Division II swimmer and current college club swimming coach with experience in collegiate athletics compliance.