Hickenlooper Applauds Passage of Protect College Sports Act

Bill includes Hickenlooper provisions to protect Olympic and non-revenue generating sports WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper welcomed the Senate passage of the Protect College Sports Act , which includes a Hickenlooper negotiated compromise requiring schools that participate in the bill’s new collective media rights framework to protect Olympic and non-revenue sports. The bill also locks in roster and scholarship minimums to prevent the quiet cutting of sports that has accelerated in recent years as college athletics has become an increasingly commercial enterprise. Over the last two years, we’ve seen non-revenue sports get cut, including 415 college teams and 41 Olympic sports programs, affecting at least 1,000 student-athletes across the country. “College athletes have won new rights and a bigger voice, and they deserve both. But the rules changed fast, and the sports that don’t make money were left wondering whether they had a future,” said Hickenlooper . “This bill gives Olympic and non-revenue sports the stability to keep going, and it lets Colorado’s universities plan and invest in athletes across every sport, not just the ones on television. It’s a compromise. Nobody got everything they wanted. But it’s a real answer, and that beats the uncertainty we have now.” Colorado is home to Olympic City USA, Colorado Springs, where there is the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum, and over 20 National Olympic governing bodies. Earlier this summer, Hickenlooper’s staff worked to ensure the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee ’s interests were protected in the bill. Read the Committee’s full endorsement letter HERE. ###