What Nick Saban told Congress should worry college sports
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A week after introducing the Protect College Sports Act of 2026, Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) convened a high-profile panel Wednesday, June 3, on Capitol Hill to provide testimony to the proposed benefits of the act.
Seven-time college football national champion coach Nick Saban, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, University of Utah defensive lineman Lance Holtzclaw, former university president Gordon Gee and Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould are speaking on the Senate floor.
After introductory remarks from Cruz, who proclaimed “changing the law is the only way to fix the legal chaos that we’re seeing right now,” and with Cantwell adding a staggering 106 NCAA sports teams and more than 1,000 student-athlete roster spots have been eliminated since 2023, the ex-Alabama coach and current ESPN personality Saban opened remarks.
He voiced his support for the Protect College Sports Act while Saban also shared direct monetary figures from Alabama football.
“When we had our first collective, (Alabama) had $2.7 million,” he said. “Then, $7 million $10 million. After I was gone, $17 million and then $24 million.
“Now, you have schools that have close to $40 million rosters. Basically, what’s going to happen is you’ll have football and basketball succeed and club sports for everything else.”
A former NBC executive who also has a background as an agent for Creative Artists Agency, Bevacqua sounded equal support and an alarm for an impending “Super League” without dramatic change and rules regulations.
“I think there’s going to be two inevitable outcomes: You’re going to have a Super League,” Bevacqua said. “I don’t think a Super League is good for college football, and certainly don’t think a Super League is good for college sports.
“Even the strongest universities, the healthiest universities, if you continue to have a failed House Settlement with a cap that’s not realistic and with continued motivation to move into the gray space of third-party NIL, I think we’re going to continue to see like the slide that (Senator Cantwell) put up (of decreased scholarships, roster spots and teams).
“I think that would be an incredibly sad day for this country and an unbelievably sad thing to take away from thousands of young men and women.”
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nick Saban, Notre Dame AD Congress testimony in support of Protect College Sports Act
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