Hickenlooper Helps Secure U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Endorsement on Protect College Sports Act

Bill protecting college athletes will be marked up in Senate committee on Thursday

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper welcomed the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee endorsement of the Protect College Sports Act following a compromise negotiated over the weekend by Hickenlooper's staff and Senate Commerce Committee colleagues.

The agreement ensures that schools participating in the bill's new collective media rights framework protects Olympic and non-revenue generating sports. It 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.

"College sports generate billions of dollars, but for too long, the athletes playing the games didn't come first," said Hickenlooper. "This framework changes that. It protects the Olympic athletes who represent our country on the world stage, and it gives Colorado's universities the stability they need to keep competing across all sports."

The University of Colorado, Colorado State University, and the University of Denver are all supportive of the legislation.

The Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled to take up the Protect College Sports Act this Thursday, June 18.

Read the full endorsement letter HERE.

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