Senate Commerce Committee aides said Monday the full chamber could begin voting on a sweeping college sports bill before starting a monthlong summer break, but Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., stopped short of penciling it onto his packed pre-recess calendar.
Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and ranking Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington, along with co-author Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., have been in talks with the leaders of the powerful Southeastern and Big Ten conferences since advancing a version of the measure on June 18. Those revenue-generating giants, known as college athletics’ “Power Two” leagues, announced late Friday their member schools would support the bill.
