The biggest debate in college sports today is not about athletes. It is about power. As lawmakers, college presidents, and athletic directors rally around the Protect College Sports Act of 2026, the conversation has centered on governance, regulation, and lawsuits — and less on the students whose futures hang in the balance. The landmark piece of proposed legislation establishes a uniform framework to codify the rights of student-athletes and regulate college athletics in order to save college sports. But save it for whom?
College sports has become a marketplace with too few rules and too little accountability — and student-athletes are often paying the price. They are expected to navigate compensation, transfers, contracts, and eligibility in a system defined by inconsistent state laws, shifting policies, judicial inconsistency, and competing financial interests. As billions of dollars flow through college athletics, power has increasingly shifted to agents, collectives, and other intermediaries, while the students at the center of the enterprise are caught in the middle with the least certainty and protection.
