{"id":2659384,"date":"2026-09-12T15:44:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T19:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ted-cruz-faces-rowdy-crowd-while-promoting-the-protect-college-sports-act\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T15:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T19:49:09","slug":"ted-cruz-faces-rowdy-crowd-while-promoting-the-protect-college-sports-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ted-cruz-faces-rowdy-crowd-while-promoting-the-protect-college-sports-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Ted Cruz faces rowdy crowd while promoting the Protect College Sports Act"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fted-cruz-faces-rowdy-crowd-while-promoting-the-protect-college-sports-act%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2659384&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) appeared on ESPN\u2019s *College GameDay* promoting the Protect College Sports Act, which aims to regulate college sports standards and address issues like athlete compensation and illegal booster activities. His appearance was met with hostility from Texas students, who booed and chanted at him.Cruz emphasized the importance of college sports and the need for reasonable rules to protect student athletes and their rights to earn through Name, image, Likeness (NIL) agreements. He also discussed recent legal developments allowing athletes to retain eligibility despite turning professional. The bill has bipartisan support and is expected to be voted on in the Senate soon, but faces hurdles in the House. President Trump has endorsed the legislation, although some Democrats and groups like the Congressional Black Caucus oppose aspects of it. Cruz remains optimistic about passing the bill, which aims to bring order and fairness to college sports law and compensation practices.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen.<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ted-cruz\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"185\"> Ted Cruz<\/a> (R-TX) faced a raucous gathering at his appearance on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/espn\/\">ESPN\u2019s<\/a> <em>College GameDay<\/em> while pushing for the passage of the Protect College Sports Act, whose closure vote was delayed due to the congressional August recess. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ESPN\u2019s <em>College GameDay<\/em> hosted Cruz for an interview with Rece Davis, in which Cruz discussed the efforts for a nationalized regulation of collegiate sports standards ahead of Saturday\u2019s University of Texas at Austin\u2019s Week 2 matchup against Ohio State University. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<style>.explore-more-section { background: var(--wex-bg); border-top: 1px solid #ffffff; border-bottom: 1px solid #ffffff; margin: 24px 0; margin-top: -20px; }<\/style>\n<style id=\"mos-8bd6854f-86e6-44f8-b531-4d8cfe263c12-style\">@scope (#mos-8bd6854f-86e6-44f8-b531-4d8cfe263c12) { .we-meter {   --we-red: #DB3745;   --we-charcoal: #323E48;   --we-blue: #15BEF0;   --we-slate: #85A0AB;   --we-gold: #ECC270;   --we-text: #323E48;   --we-border: #85A0AB;    max-width: 800px;   margin: 0 auto;   padding: 1.5rem;   border: 1px solid rgba(33, 39, 42, 0.4);   border-radius: 12px;   background: #fff;   color: var(--we-text);   font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; }  .we-grid {   display: grid;   <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lib-media-blames-christian-parents-for-nashville-shooting\/\" title=\"Lib Media Blames Christian Parents for Nashville Shooting\">grid-template-columns<\/a>: 1fr 200px;   gap: 1.5rem;   align-items: center; }  .we-title {   margin: 0 0 0.5rem;   font-family: Constantia, \"Lucida Bright\", \"DejaVu Serif\", Georgia, \"serif\" !important;   font-size: 1.75rem !important;   line-height: 1.1 !important;   letter-spacing: -0.02em !important; }  .we-title span {   display: block;   color: var(--we-red); }  .we-copy {   margin: 0;   font-size: 1rem !important;   line-height: 1.4 !important; }  .we-actions {   text-align: center; }  .we-cta {   display: flex;   align-items: center;   justify-content: center;   gap: 8px;   width: 100%;   padding: 12px 16px;   border-radius: 8px;   background: var(--we-red);   color: #fff !important;   text-decoration: none;   font-size: 0.9rem !important;   font-weight: 700 !important; }  .we-arrow {   font-size: 1.2em !important; }  .we-member {   margin: 12px 0 0;   font-size: 0.85rem !important;   line-height: 1.4 !important; }  .we-member a {   color: var(--we-red);   text-decoration: none; }  @media (max-width: 600px) {   .we<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sununu-and-shaheen-look-to-keep-dynasties-alive-in-new-hampshire\/\" title=\"Sununu and Shaheen look to keep dynasties alive in New Hampshire\">-grid {     grid-template-columns<\/a>: 1fr;     gap: 1rem;   }   .we-meter {     padding: 1.25rem;   }   .we-cta {     padding: 14px;   } } }<\/style>\n<p><script>if (typeof CSSScopeRule == 'undefined') { const style = document.getElementById('mos-8bd6854f-86e6-44f8-b531-4d8cfe263c12-style'); if (style) { style.textContent = style.textContent.replace(\/^@scope (#mos-8bd6854f-86e6-44f8-b531-4d8cfe263c12) { \/, '').replace(\/}$\/, '');}}<\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"mos-8bd6854f-86e6-44f8-b531-4d8cfe263c12\" style=\"display: contents;\">\n<section class=\"we-meter\" aria-label=\"Washington Examiner subscription meter\">\n<div class=\"we-grid\">\n<div>\n<h2 class=\"we-title\">Stay informed.<span>Stay ahead.<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"we-copy\">                  Join Washington Examiner for unlimited access to the news, analysis, and commentary that matter most.       <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"we-actions\">       <a class=\"we-cta\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/subscribe\/digital\/\">         <span>See Options<\/span>         <span class=\"we-arrow\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\u203a<\/span>       <\/a>       <\/p>\n<p class=\"we-member\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/sign-in\/\">Log in<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cruz\u2019s microphone was drowned out by UT Austin students and fans who were heard chanting, \u201cTed \u2014 you \u2014 suck,\u201d for 10 minutes, eventually booing the senator off-stage.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cruz proposed the co-authored Protect College Sports Act with Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/maria-cantwell\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1032\">Maria Cantwell<\/a> (D-WA) and with the support of Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chris-coons\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1885\">Chris Coons<\/a> (D-DE) in late May. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Great to be in Austin for College GameDay this morning, supporting our Texas Longhorns.<\/p>\n<p>College athletics is an incredible American tradition. The rivalries, the pageantry, the scholarships, and the opportunities it creates for young men and women are worth preserving.<\/p>\n<p>Doing\u2026 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/S3uqOZiSFP\">pic.twitter.com\/S3uqOZiSFP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenTedCruz\/status\/2098804956388012149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCollege sports is an amazing institution. It has been an avenue for opportunity for millions of young men and young women,\u201d Cruz <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/awfulannouncing\/status\/2098777994294915465?s=20\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[Student athletes] are producing enormous value at an enormous scale,\u201d Cruz noted, discussing the pay-to-play notion in the Name, Image, Likeness debate of collegiate student-athlete compensation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEvery single student can still earn name, image, and likeness money,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat this bill does is prohibit a booster in a back alley showing up with a bag of cash and doing things under the table.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Texas Democratic Senate candidate <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/james-talarico\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"17710\">James Talarico<\/a>, whose defense of transgender athletes in girls\u2019 sports has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4721145\/talarico-reverse-stance-transgender-athlete-girl-sport\/\">caused backlash<\/a>, weighed in on the harsh reaction to Cruz\u2019s appearance.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It&#8217;s a great day to be a Longhorn. \ud83e\udd18<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 James Talarico (@jamestalarico) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jamestalarico\/status\/2098780416907829318?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cruz elaborated in the interview that the Protect College Sports Act also \u201cbrings order to chaos; it protects the students and their ability to be compensated \u2026 but it also puts reasonable rules in place,\u201d acknowledging the recent legal standoff between LSU and the SEC after a judge cleared the way for a pair of former NFL signees to return for a fifth year of eligibility despite having declared and signed with the professional league.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are currently 34 states that have collegiate name, image, and likeness-related laws in effect. Texas enacted its NIL law in 2023, followed by a 2023 amendment. Several states have no bill proposed at this time and operate under institution-based and NCAA interim guidelines.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative; width: 100%; height: 0px; padding: 66.7% 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; will-change: transform;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/e.infogram.com\/0ba27ca5-92ea-477a-bad7-04a07a5207ab?src=embed&#038;embed_type=responsive_iframe\" title=\"NIL collegiate state laws\" allowfullscreen allow=\"fullscreen\" style=\"position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0px; left: 0px; border-width: medium; border-style: none; border-color: currentcolor; border-image: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Donald Trump has urged bipartisan support for the Protect College Sports Act, \u201cto send the bill to my desk, and I will sign it.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"249\">Democrats<\/a>, hesitant to hand over a win to Republicans ahead of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"11675\">midterm election season<\/a>, have pushed back on the legislation\u2019s language. The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congressional-black-caucus\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1872\">Congressional Black Caucus<\/a> and AFL-CIO also came out against it, though amendments dealing with issues that were never part of the bill also started coming up.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cruz optimistically ended the interview saying, \u201cI think we\u2019re going to get the [60] votes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bipartisan legislation was confirmed by Senate Majority Leader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-thune\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"178\">John Thune<\/a> (R-SD) to be \u201cteed up\u201d for a September vote, leaving the Senate two weeks to hold a vote on the bill after the chamber reconvenes on Sept. 14 from the August recess.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/4710185\/10-senate-seats-most-likely-to-flip-2026\/\"><strong>THE 10 SENATE SEATS MOST LIKELY TO FLIP IN 2026<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCollege sports is something that needs to be fixed; [Cruz and Cantwell] have a good solution,\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/congress-nil-bill-f90c11932844ed7b15ed5f05681c3406\">said<\/a> Thune.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the bill passes the Senate, it still faces a steep climb in the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house-of-representatives\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"93\">House<\/a>, which is more narrowly divided and has tried for months to bring the less athlete-friendly SCORE Act to a vote and failed repeatedly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ted Cruz faces chaos on ESPN\u2019s College GameDay over college sports bill<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4048,"featured_media":2659385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/cruz-college-gameday.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[39752,4542,32090],"class_list":["post-2659384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-college-sports","tag-protest","tag-ted-cruz"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/cruz-college-gameday.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2659384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4048"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2659384"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2659384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2659388,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2659384\/revisions\/2659388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2659385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2659384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2659384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2659384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}