Exclusive: FSU, Miami, Clemson, UNC ask Congress to change Protect College Sports Act’s realignment rules

Key Points:

• Leaders from Florida State, Miami, Clemson, and North Carolina have jointly requested changes to the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA), specifically targeting the bill’s conference realignment rules.
• The current PCSA limits power conferences to 20 members and requires schools switching conferences to spend three years as independents, a provision these schools argue is overly punitive and financially disruptive.
• Their main demands include raising the conference membership cap from 20 to 22 and removing the three-year independence waiting period for schools changing conferences.
• Florida Senators Ashley Moody and Rick Scott have opposed aspects of the bill related to realignment, with Moody successfully advocating to raise the conference cap from 19 to 20 members.
• Despite bipartisan Senate support for the bill, some ACC schools, notably Florida State and Miami, continue to push for amendments, while many House members, mainly from the Southeast, are calling to eliminate the expansion cap altogether, though such changes face strong resistance from bill authors.