Utah's Lance Holtzclaw Represents Student Athletes in D.C.

Lance Holtzclaw flew to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to testify in front of Congress as a college football player. Holtzclaw isn’t any college football player; he has actually lived through the chaos that senators were debating.

The Utah defensive end testified before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee as part of a hearing on the Protect College Sports Act of 2026, a bipartisan bill introduced by Senators Ted Cruz, Maria Cantwell, Eric Schmitt and Chris Coons. The hearing, titled “Protecting College Sports: Supporting Student Athletes, Restoring Fair Competition and Saving the Games Fans Love,” ran nearly three hours and featured some heavy hitters. Former Alabama coach Nick Saban, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, former West Virginia president Gordon Gee and Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould were all in attendance to share their thoughts. Holtzclaw was the only active player in the room.

What he had to say

In his written testimony, Holtzclaw thanked the committee for including student-athletes in the conversation and framed his appearance around the perspective of someone who has personally experienced many of the sport’s recent changes. “My name is Lance Holtzclaw, and I am a football student-athlete at the University of Utah,” he said. “It is an honor to be here representing current and future student-athletes across the country.”

That representation mattered. The loudest voices in college athletics reform tend to come from coaches, administrators and commissioners; people who have skin in the game from an institutional standpoint. Holtzclaw’s presence put a current player’s perspective at the table during what may be the most consequential legislative moment college sports has ever seen.

His background gave him credibility to speak on just about every major issue the committee addressed. Recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic, he began his college career at Washington, competed during the final years of the Pac-12, played on a team that reached the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, then transferred to Utah as the sport continued to shift around NIL, the portal and conference realignment. If you wanted someone who had seen the modern college football experience from multiple angles, Holtzclaw fit the bill.

His central message was straightforward: players can’t be an afterthought in how these decisions get made. “Decisions about college athletics should not be made solely for student-athletes but made with student-athletes,” Holtzclaw said.

Among the key topics addressed over the course of the three-hour hearing were reigning in the bidding wars between NIL collectives, regulating player agents, pooling media rights and preserving Olympic and women’s sports. The Protect College Sports Act would provide the NCAA with an antitrust exemption to enforce several rules that have been challenged in court in recent years.

The bill has broad support. Sen. Maria Cantwell pointed out that both the ACC and the Big 12 sent letters of support, noting that those conferences have no desire to suffer the same fate as the Pac-12 did just a few years ago.

Holtzclaw’s position

Holtzclaw notably did not take a public position on the bill itself, something that was noticed in the room. It was that kind of measured approach that actually generated one of the lighter moments of an otherwise serious afternoon.

Utah Sen. John Curtis, noting that Holtzclaw had played for multiple programs, decided to test his school loyalty mid-hearing. “Mr. Holtzclaw, I’m kind of curious: what is your favorite team?” Curtis asked, holding up a University of Utah ballcap for good measure. Holtzclaw didn’t flinch. “I wouldn’t call any team my favorite, but I do represent the team I currently play for, which is the University of Utah,” he answered. The room laughed. “You should be in politics,” Curtis told him. Ted Cruz cut in: “Sen. Curtis, you better be worried that he may file for election.”

Funny moment, but it also kind of illustrated the point. Holtzclaw handled a room full of U.S. senators with the same composure you’d want from someone representing thousands of college athletes in a conversation that will shape the future of the sport they play.

Utah doesn’t often get a seat at the table when the biggest decisions in college athletics get made. On Wednesday, they had one, and Holtzclaw represented the University extraordinarily well.