Like John Kennedy, Bill Cassidy was among the 77 senators who voted in favor of the Protect College Sports Act last night. One of the provisions that resonates with him the most is the one that limits student-athletes to just one transfer without having to sit out a year. Cassidy said he had a conversation with former LSU and Alabama head football coach Nick Saban about a student-athlete 30 credit hours shy of graduation transferring to another school.
“If he’d finished his senior year at Alabama, he would have graduated. He went to the next school; they wouldn’t accept 30 hours in transfer, so now he’s 60 hours behind but only has one year to get his degree,” Cassidy explained.
College-hopping has become more and more popular among student-athletes in recent years after the NCAA eliminated its one-time transfer rule. Cassidy says that’s going to be very counterproductive for the student-athlete in the long-term, especially since only 1% play sports professionally.
“Every time a student-athlete transfers, they become less likely, statistically, to graduate,” Cassidy noted.
Kennedy proposed an amendment that would have capped ticket price hikes to 4%. That amendment was defeated, and Cassidy was among the senators who voted “no” to sink it.
“I don’t think the Federal Government should be intervening in a private market in that way. If a ticket is too costly, people don’t go,” Cassidy said.
The Protect College Sports Act now heads to the House, where its future is uncertain. The House is in recess until after the midterm election; so when it takes up the bill, time will be of the essence – it will need to get onto President Trump’s desk by January 3rd, or the process will need to start all over again from square one when the new Congress is sworn in.
