Saban to Congress: College bill will 'bring order'...
Key takeaways
- "Congress does not need to micromanage college athletics," Saban said in a nearly packed room during the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing.
- "We've seen the data," Gould said.
- The Protect College Sports Act, written after months of negotiation between Sen.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
WASHINGTON -- Former Alabama coach Nick Saban faced several United States senators Wednesday morning in a historic hearing on Capitol Hill and pleaded for Congress to "bring order to a system that badly needs fixing" in the NIL and transfer portal era.
"Congress does not need to micromanage college athletics," Saban said in a nearly packed room during the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing. "Congress does need to fix the mess in the courts and create a national framework so the people inside college sports can enforce fair rules. Without that legal certainty, every rule becomes another lawsuit, every standard becomes another risk, and the system keeps drifting toward a professional model."
Saban testified his support for the Protect College Sports Act, along with Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould, West Virginia president Gordon Gee and Utah defensive end Lance Holtzclaw. While Holtzclaw provided a player's perspective on agents, the portal and coaching changes, the athletic leaders spoke with a sense of urgency and warned of dire consequences like more Olympic sports being cut if federal legislation isn't passed soon.