ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A lawmaker sponsoring a key piece of federal college sports legislation says he believes the bill likely has the support it needs to make it through the upper chamber. Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri said he thinks the Protect College Sports Act probably has the 60 votes it needs to pass the Senate. Schmitt called the next two weeks critical for the Protect College Sports Act. He said leaders from the Southeastern and Big Ten Conferences, both of which oppose the bill as it is written, have met with the top sponsors to negotiate changes in the bill in an effort to gather their support.
ATLANTA (AP) — The Aflac Kickoff Game has announced a name, image and likeness deal with Auburn leading up to the Tigers’ game against Baylor on Sept. 5. The Peach Bowl and Kickoff Game say this multimillion deal marks the first time a neutral-site college football game has incorporated NIL compensation for student-athletes. The NIL agreement also will involve third-party entities. According to the announcement, as many as two dozen Auburn student-athletes will promote the game through social media posts, public appearances, advertisements, in-game promotions, branding opportunities and interviews.
UNDATED (AP) — Beginning with next year’s NCAA women’s basketball tournament, the top 16 teams will be placed in the bracket in their true ranking regardless of conference affiliation. In the past, the top four teams in a conference would be placed in different regions to protect them from playing each other until the Final Four. For example, the tournament this past season had four SEC teams in the top eight overall seeds. Texas was third, South Carolina fourth, LSU fifth and Vanderbilt seventh. The Gamecocks and Tigers would now be in the same region instead of moving them to different ones.