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By Sam Neumann on

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Sen. Ted Cruz wants the Protect College Sports Act signed into law, and he wants it to happen on College GameDay.

Cruz posted on X over the weekend that Pat McAfee “nailed it” in describing college sports as being in “absolute chaos,” argued that there are “no rules anyone can reliably follow,” and said Congress is now “our only option.” He quoted Nick Saban calling the current state of the sport “absolutely crazy,” pointing to the idea that an NFL player could theoretically return to play college football, and closed with a call to action: pass the bill, send it to President Trump’s desk, and sign it “on College GameDay this fall.”

Back in August, Cruz and fellow bill sponsor Sen. Eric Schmitt released a joint statement after the Senate adjourned for recess without voting on the bill, promising a “guaranteed vote” in September and floating the idea that Trump would sign it live on an episode of GameDay if it passed. ESPN declined to comment when Awful Announcing asked about any plans for a Trump appearance at the time.

Just this past weekend, GameDay dedicated a segment to the chaos surrounding LSU’s attempt to play players who had signed NFL contracts and were in training camps, and both McAfee and Saban used the platform to call on Congress to pass the legislation. Saban told the panel he considers the bill “80% good,” praising provisions that would regulate transfers, set a five-year eligibility window, and cap player compensation. McAfee, more bluntly, told Washington to get back from recess and “get to work to save college sports.”

Saban’s testified before the Senate Commerce Committee in support of the bill and appears in a commercial for Saving College Sports, a 501(c)(4) organization built specifically around pushing the legislation through. The former Alabama head coach has also woven Trump into that campaign, praising him on Fox News for backing the bill and separately lobbying him to sign a related executive order on NIL reform. McAfee, meanwhile, has spent much of the past year building a working relationship with the Trump administration, including breaking news alongside the White House and interviewing Trump on his show on Veterans Day.

The Protect College Sports Act has drawn opposition from the NAACP, the AFL-CIO, more than a dozen Republican senators, and the Congressional Black Caucus, which said over the summer it couldn’t support the legislation in its current form. A vote originally expected in August got pushed to September specifically because the bill didn’t appear to have the votes. Even though Saban and McAfee are on board, the legislation still faces an uphill climb for passage.

Everyone agrees college sports need much-needed reform, especially at the highest levels of football. Of course, McAfee, Saban, and others in the college sports world are free to share their opinions and perspectives as two of the biggest advocates for college football today. But it is worth asking how comfortable ESPN is — or even should be — with two of its biggest stars pushing congressional legislation without providing an opposing viewpoint.

That said, ESPN has shown some willingness to fold Trump into its programming in his second term, airing a recorded message from him during halftime of last year’s College Football Playoff National Championship and carrying the 2026 Patriot Games, an event Trump himself announced, on the ESPN app. Whether that willingness extends to hosting an actual bill-signing ceremony on GameDay’s set still remains to be seen. Cruz, for his part, clearly hopes it does.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann