Bill Cassidy

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate late Monday night overwhelmingly approved overhauling college athletics in bipartisan legislation that still faces plenty of hurdles before becoming law.

Senators, who had flown into town Monday afternoon, voted 77-22 to send the Protect College Sports Act to the U.S. House for consideration.

The lower chamber isn’t scheduled to return to Capitol Hill until after the November 3 congressional midterms are complete.

Both Louisiana senators, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, and Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, voted in favor of final passage.

A final vote in the Senate was slowed by last-minute negotiations.

Republicans and Democrats each had four amendments they wanted attached to the instrument.

Kennedy wanted an amendment to cap ticket price increases.

“We’ve made a lot of people happy with this bill,” Kennedy said in a floor speech. “So, the athletes win, the coaches win, the colleges and universities win. What’s wrong with this picture? Who makes all this possible? The fans.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, opposed Kennedy’s proposed change in wording, arguing that it amounted to setting price controls on college sporting events.

“All this bill does is fix prices,” Kennedy responded.

The amendment came 18 votes shy of the 60 needed to be added to the bill.

The legislation, if enacted into law, would exempt college sports from anti-trust laws – protecting universities and their athletic departments, as well as the NCAA governing body, from most litigation.

The Protect College Sports Act allows athletes to receive a portion of the revenues their sports create and to make money from the use of their name, image, and likeness. Athletes would be allowed to transfer once without having to sit out, and guarantees that would allow them to return to school and complete their degrees. Coaches would not be allowed to change programs during the season.

The bipartisan legislation was sponsored by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington.

The legislation has wide support, including from the SEC, Big 10 and other major athletic conferences as well as coaches and President Donald Trump.