Cody Campbell explains Protect College Sports Act: 'We're trying to bring rules and control back to the sport'

Billionaire Texas Tech booster and board member Cody Campbell has long been among the most prominent public proponents of establishing national legislation to reform the collegiate sports landscape. It’s because of that history that Campbell believes this week’s bipartisan “Protect College Sports Act” represents the best option to deliver on that mission.

Amid his ongoing social media effort to bully rival Texas into agreeing to schedule his Red Raiders in Week 1 of the upcoming college football season, Campbell appeared on Friday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show. There, he break down why the newly proposed “Protect College Sports Act” co-authored by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is “the most comprehensive, best bill that’s been released on college sports reform.”

“It does so much to protect and save (college) sports. This bill is a pro-athlete bill and an anti-chaos bill. I’ve been working on this issue for about five years and I’ve never been so optimistic that we may have a solution to solve the problems (facing college athletics),” Campbell told McAfee. “… To put it plain and simple, we are trying to bring rules and control back to the sport and end all the chaos that’s causing the problems it’s causing. We’re trying to resolve all the financial issues that are taking down the Olympic sports and women’s sports. And this bill effectively does that.”

The bipartisan bill, which has received some pushback from both sides of the debate, provides limited antitrust protection for the NCAA to enforce eligibility and transfer restrictions and codifies many of the rules around NIL and revenue-sharing spelled out in last Summer’s House v. NCAA settlement. It also allows for pooled media rights between FBS conferences as long as 75% of member schools agree to it.

More controversially, the bill also includes language that restricts coaches or coordinators from leaving their respective teams for another job before the end of the season — dubbed “the Lane Kiffin rule.” It also banned the creation of a potential “super league” or merger between the Big Ten and SEC as the only two conferences with revenue exceeding $1 billion in fiscal year 2025.

But, more importantly for Campbell and other supporters, the “Protect College Sports Act” provides necessary regulation to help rein in the financial chaos that has plagued collegiate sports since the advent of NIL (name, image, and likeness) and revenue-sharing with student-athletes over the past few years. And while there will be some restrictions, including around transferring or a set financial “salary” cap for teams, the bill also includes language that delivers extensive protections for student-athletes, which Campbell believes provides balance that some of the other partisan predecessors lacked.

“Even schools in big conferences like the SEC are having financial difficulties, so we’re resolving issues like that. We’re also going to stop the chaos that’s gone on with the transfer portal, controlling the conditions in which people can transfer,” Campbell continued. “… To protect the players, there’s a ton in there about player health, safety and welfare; there’s money provided for their post-sport care to make sure their injuries are taken care of.

“We’re (also) going to regulate the agents, because these agents have been taking advantage of these young kids,” Campbell concluded. “We’ve seen situations where agents are charging 25% commissions on these kids. … It’s been absolutely predatory. … And that’s what this thing does: it takes care of the athletes, it protects the system, and it preserves it for the long term.”