The NCAA and its power conferences appear to have lost their clearest path towards federal legislation, as the SCORE Act has reportedly collapsed in Congress amid mounting political opposition.
The legislation, supported heavily by the Big Ten and SEC, would have granted the NCAA limited antitrust protections while establishing federal standards for things like athlete compensation, eligibility, transfers, and NIL regulation. Without antitrust protection, many of those rules remain vulnerable to legal challenges.
Last week, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) announced its unanimous opposition to the SCORE Act, leading to its demise.
“The Congressional Black Caucus cannot support legislation benefiting major athletic institutions that continue to remain silent while Black voting rights and Black political power are being systematically dismantled across the South,” the CBC said.
The legislation was scheduled for a vote on the House floor last Wednesday, but it was pulled, Yahoo Sports‘ Ross Dellenger reported.
The SCORE Act has been pulled from the House floor voting schedule this week, sources tell @YahooSports.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 19, 2026
The SCORE Act reportedly faced criticism from labor advocates and Democrats over provisions that would have prevented college athletes from being classified as employees. It also lost momentum after members of the CBC and NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) publicly criticized SEC leadership over voting rights issues tied to congressional redistricting battles in several Southern states.
Last week, the NAACP called on Black athletes and fans to withhold support for athletic programs from public universities in states “that have moved to limit, weaken, or erase Black voting representation.” That includes several SEC powerhouse schools such as Alabama, Georgia, Texas, LSU, Florida, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
A few days prior, the CBC sent a letter to the SEC and ACC commissioners, along with NCAA President Charlie Baker, stating that its “members will oppose the SCORE Act unless conference leaders oppose GOP-led redistricting efforts in states that include major conference members.”
“College sports power brokers spent tens of millions of dollars trying to buy themselves a bailout in Washington, and it was athletes, not lobbyists, who stopped them,” said U.S. Congresswoman Lori Trahan, according to The Hill.
“That says everything about who has the real power in this fight, and I’m honored to stand with them,” Trahan said.
On the other side, U.S. Congressman Burgess Owens, a Black former college athlete and NFL player, said it was “sickening” that the caucus “is actively telling young Black athletes to forget their dreams and stop their education so they can further their radical political agenda,” according to The Hill.
With the SCORE Act dead, at least for the time being, the NCAA’s hope of federal legislation rests on negotiations between Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell.
The Senate proposal was reportedly progressing last week, though no deal was imminent. According to Dellenger, any Senate bill is “expected to include narrow antitrust protections around player movement (transfers) and eligibility standards, as well as some codification of portions of the NCAA’s landmark House settlement, optionality to pool media rights and an agent registry/certification system.”
It may be missing the “rigid anti-employment concept” found in the SCORE Act, he added.
With the SCORE Act collapsing, the NCAA remains vulnerable to litigation over some of the rules it’s trying to enforce, potentially including the proposed age-based eligibility model, which could be voted on next month.
A wonderful win for whomever and the Canadians.