Padilla Statement on Protect College Sports Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), issued the following statement after voting to pass the Protect College Sports Act of 2026:

"College sports have long been an enriching part of American life, but in recent years, the pressures of big money have destabilized college athletics and overshadowed the primary mission of higher education.

"College athletes are students first. I am proud to have secured critical provisions to better support their success both in and out of the classroom by strengthening oversight of health and safety standards, holding colleges and universities accountable for ensuring students achieve academic success, and allowing college athletic programs the flexibility to make conference decisions that best serve their students.

"This bill also preserves opportunities for women's sports and Olympic sports by protecting roster spots and requiring continued investment in the pipeline of American Olympic talent.

"These reforms will help keep the focus where it belongs: on the students and the education that college sports are meant to serve."

The Protect College Sports Act of 2026 includes several provisions Padilla authored, including:

Academic Performance Rating (APR)

• Padilla secured a change that would condition a school's ability to use the retention fund to being in good standing with the NCAA's academic performance and graduation standards for student athletes.

Health and Safety Standards

• Padilla secured a change that strengthens and expands the work of the Commission on the Future of College Athletics to:
  • Ensure the adequacy of and compliance with health and safety standards required in the bill (and consider options to further strengthen these standards and oversight, including through the creation of a third-party oversight organization),
  • Evaluate the efficacy of the independence structure of health and safety officers, and
  • Review violations, athlete injuries, or deaths.

Conference Provision

• Padilla secured changes to reduce and eventually end the independence requirement for schools moving between the Power Four conferences so that certain schools are not unfairly locked into their conferences in perpetuity.

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