Ted Cruz booed on ‘College GameDay’ while promoting Protect College Sports Act
AL.com • • sports
Key Points:
- U.S. Senator Ted Cruz faced boos and chants of "Ted Cruz sucks!" from Texas fans during an ESPN College GameDay segment ahead of the Texas vs. Ohio State game, despite predicting a Texas win.
- Cruz promoted the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, which he co-authored with Senator Maria Cantwell, aiming to regulate college sports eligibility, name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation, and transfer rules.
- The bill proposes limiting athletes to five years of eligibility from high school graduation or age 19, allowing only one no-penalty transfer, and setting a hard eligibility cutoff at age 24 to bring order to the current transfer portal chaos.
- Cruz argued the legislation is necessary to prevent rising costs that are causing many college athletic programs to lose money and cut women’s, non-revenue, and Olympic sports, warning that without reform, many competitive football programs could disappear.
- A Senate vote on the Protect College Sports Act is scheduled between September 15 and September 23.
