There is an old saying that has been attributed to may over the years that is apt right now.
“Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made.”
If you didn’t like legislation before, you sure don’t like it now.
Per ESPN, it’s unlikely that the Protect College Sports Act will be voted on this year. While U.S. Senators are still trying to appease the SEC and the Big Ten, the bill simply doesn’t have the runway to get a vote before the August recess. Yes, legislators get a month off because, reasons, I guess? Can I get a month off for doing nothing?
This means the bill is basically done for 2026. After they return to Congress, they must get a budget passed to keep the government from shutting down and then there are the mid-term elections. Lame duck Congressional sessions accomplish little, either. The parties will have to pick this up in 2027.
The question is this — what should the Big 12 do next? I think they should try to do something that most see as impossible. But the time is right to take a shot.
What the Big 12 Must Consider Doing Now
As I wrote Sunday in Postscripts, as the SEC and the Big Ten chipped away at what Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) had put together, the bill was looking more and more like a Power 2 wish list than actual legislation that would be fair to all.
That’s something that should worry the Big 12 Conference long term, especially if everyone picks this bill up where it leaves off this year.
There isn’t much the league can do if the bill provides the SEC in the Big Ten a narrow pathway to add membership, even with a 19-team cap, which sounds ludicrous. It leaves the Big 12, and the ACC, vulnerable to losing more members. And for those two leagues, the only avenue to add would be teams from the group of six. That may be great for them, but not as good for the Big 12. They’re not in the driver’s seat.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark sounded committed to the bill during Big 12 media days earlier this month. But with several months between now and when it could be picked up again, this offers him and the league a chance to do something that could allow them steer the ship with more authority than they are now.
I think he and the Big 12’s presidents and athletic directors should take the lead and try to move the rest of college sports forward toward doing something themselves, which is what they should have been doing all along. How does he and the lead do that?
How to Pull This Off?
Cut the NCAA out. Remember — the reason the NCAA is seeking federal legislation is because it is inept and can’t find a way to get this done. This is a college sports problem. It should be solved by college sports people. And the people who run college sports, its biggest entity, should not be ceding power to the federal government.
At some point college football is going to regulate itself. Isn’t that what SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has been talking about all week? Regulating itself if this bill doesn’t work? I don’t think Sankey is bluffing. He’s taking his cues from his presidents. But I don’t think he wants to do it.
Yormark should reach out and say, “Let’s double down on that and try to do it ourselves.”
A week-long retreat. Every commissioner invited. Leave the NCAA out of it. Work it out.
The Big 12 must keep its seat at the table. This is a great opportunity to lead for Yormark and the league. Be the ones that gets the ball rolling to get everyone to solve the issues themselves, without the NCAA and without Congress.
Pie in the sky? Sure. It probably won’t happen. The NCAA tried and failed but the league lacks credibility in this area. It’s far better to control your own destiny than to allow someone to do it for you. And for a league that has had a lack of control of its own destiny at times, this is the perfect time for the Big 12 to get out in front.
Or, the Big 12 could just wait another year for legislation that is unlikely to happen and watch as the SEC and the Big Ten break away and leave the rest of the college game in the dust. It’s worth a shot and the time is right.
Yormark likes being bold, right? Trying to fix this without federal help would be the boldest move he could make and secure the Big 12’s future in the bargain.
