The Protect College Sports Act, currently under negotiation in Congress, includes a provision that would prevent the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference (SEC) from expanding further. The proposed legislation also suggests that all 10 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conferences combine their media rights into a single pool.

University of Michigan president Domenico Grasso, speaking at a recent board of regents meeting, addressed the implications of this legislation. He stated, "We want what's best for the Big Ten and for Michigan." Grasso also said, "We are not going to sacrifice the competitive advantage that we have built for more than a century." Including the University of Michigan president, there are 33 other presidents and chancellors across the Big Ten and SEC conferences.

In previous years, both the Big Ten and the SEC expanded their memberships by incorporating teams from other conferences, including the Big East and Pac-12. The current discussions in Congress regarding the Protect College Sports Act come as the combined annual value of media rights for the 10 FBS conferences, which includes the College Football Playoff, is approximately $5 billion. Media rights contracts for college sports are currently held by entities such as ESPN and Fox.

Why It Matters

The proposed Protect College Sports Act could alter the landscape of college athletics by imposing restrictions on conference expansion and centralizing media rights. The provision blocking future expansion for the Big Ten and SEC directly addresses past growth trends by these conferences. The pooling of media rights for all 10 FBS conferences, currently valued at approximately $5 billion annually, would represent a shift in revenue distribution and control within college sports, impacting current media rights holders like ESPN and Fox.