BRUCE PEARL: Conservatives are attacking the very college sports bill that protects women
Men don’t belong in women’s sports. That isn’t complicated, but some conservative influencers and interest groups are allowing it to become complicated through careless claims about legislation designed to protect college athletics.
I spent nearly five decades coaching college basketball. I know the difference between winning a possession and winning the game. Conservatives now face a similar choice: We can chase applause by attacking allies and mischaracterizing the bill, or we can unite around the facts and win the larger fight for women, fairness and the future of college sports.
Some organizations and women’s-sports advocates claim the Protect College Sports Act would "gut" Title IX or invalidate state laws that reserve women’s teams for women. They are wrong. The text says the opposite.
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Section 127 explicitly states that nothing in the bill will "override, modify, or amend" Title IX. Female athletes would retain their current legal protections and ability to bring sex-discrimination claims. Section 120 also protects athletes, employees and others from retaliation for reporting discrimination or participating in Title IX proceedings.
Critics also claim the bill would erase state laws keeping men out of women’s sports. It would not. The legislation establishes national standards for Division I and Division II competition on limited eligibility questions, including academics, professional status, legal violations, age and years of eligibility. It neither creates a federal right for men to enter women’s competitions nor pre-empts state laws establishing sex-based athletic categories.
The bill does not expressly create a federal right for biological males to compete in women’s sports, and Section 127 states that nothing in the bill overrides, modifies or amends Title IX. Critics seem to be grasping at anything and eager to disregard the Title IX provisions here. Especially since the Supreme Court ruled in June that schools may keep men out of women’s sports.
It also requires governing bodies to enforce rules related to state and federal law and allows individuals to sue when the law is violated.
CONGRESS MUST FIX THE PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT BEFORE GIRLS PAY THE PRICE
The bill also gives schools a powerful incentive to invest in women’s and Olympic sports. It creates a $22.5 million athlete-retention fund and allows schools to unlock up to an additional $5 million through eligible NIL investments in women’s, Olympic and non-revenue sports. A school seeking the full $27.5 million retention allowance would first need to invest $5 million in those sports. That is an ingenious way to ensure continued investment in programs that might otherwise be left behind.
And every year Congress waits, the financial pressure on college athletics grows, and the programs with the fewest resources become even more vulnerable. My 2025 Final Four team had a total NIL budget of approximately $4 million. By the 2027 Final Four, some teams could be operating with budgets approaching $30 million.
Conservatives should debate legislation, demand improvements and scrutinize every line. But facts must guide us. Too many Washington organizations would rather score points against perceived rivals than secure lasting victories for women and college athletes.
Outrage is easy; turning shared principles into law is harder. Infighting only helps the left, which has spent years undermining Title IX while conservatives battle over legislation that expressly preserves it. If we can’t unite and get this done, we will lose college sports as we know them, and women’s and Olympic sports will continue to be among the first casualties.
The stakes extend beyond Title IX, and the crisis is no longer theoretical. Thirty-two Division I Olympic-sports programs were cut between the announcement of the House settlement and May 2025. WRAL reported that more than 40 Division I Olympic-sports programs were cut between May 2024 and July 2025, even though 75% of American Olympians in 2024 competed in collegiate athletics. NCAA data
Even the University of Arkansas, backed by SEC resources, announced plans to eliminate its tennis programs before donors intervened to save them. If programs at schools like Arkansas are vulnerable, imagine the danger facing smaller schools, women’s teams and non-revenue sports nationwide.
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Credit where credit is due: Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and others have stepped up to move this legislation forward. President Trump has also led from the front by restoring the biological meaning of sex in federal policy, taking action to save college sports and backing this bill. Now, those who claim to support the America First movement should get in the game, help Congress finish the job and deliver this win for women and college athletes.
Congress now has the opportunity to take important steps to stabilize college sports, support educational opportunities for young women and men, and provide protections for the uniquely American experience of intercollegiate athletics.
There is broad agreement that college sports cannot go on with no meaningful guardrails around eligibility, transfer policy and NIL oversight. The Protect College Sports Act is an important step in the right direction, and Congress needs to keep the positive momentum moving forward.
Winning the point may feel good. Winning the war matters more.