Senate passes historic bill to regulate college sports. Its toughest test comes next.

The Protect College Sports Act is halfway home.U.S. senators on Monday overwhelmingly voted to pass legislation intended to bring regulation to an unruly industry — a historic moment in NCAA history but one expected after lawmakers advanced the bill through multiple procedural steps over the last week.The bill, mainly authored by Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and Eric Schmitt and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, garnered 77 supporting votes in the 100-member chamber — a considerable margin in such a divided Congress and a result that now sends the legislation toward the House of Representatives in an authoritative way."We wanted a big bipartisan vote," Cruz said earlier Monday. "We got a big bipartisan vote."But as supportive lawmakers celebrate their thundering victory, a question continues to loom: Will the legislation pass the House?"That bill is dead," said one Democratic House staff member."We have no intention to return to take up this bill before the midterm elections," said another.Even the most ardent supporters of the legislation believe a stiff challenge awaits in the 435-member House, which historically operates in a more unpredictable manner because of its sheer size, diverse makeup and clashing cultural and geographic beliefs — even among those within the same party. Unlike the Senate's 60-vote procedural voting threshold to bypass the chamber's filibuster, House legislation only needs a simple majority for passage.In the House, Republicans hold a four-vote margin — for now.There are landmines that threaten to tank the bill across the landscape of the lower chamber of Congress. That starts with the elections themselves on Nov. 3.The electionsHouse members are not scheduled to return until Nov. 9, after the midterm elections, where many projections have Republicans losing control of the chamber.Cruz says he's held "extensive conversations" with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Cruz continues to believe that the House will return before the elections to take up the Act. "The House can pass this in one day," Cruz said earlier Monday.Despite Cruz's confidence, House officials — even Johnson himself earlier this month — contend that will not happen.Before the new Congress takes over in January, a five-week House work session (Nov. 9-Dec. 17) is scheduled, often referred to as the "lame-duck" period. The period is known for its unpredictability as outgoing lawmakers — those who did not seek re-election or lost their bid — may vote in more of an unusual manner.If the Democrats win back the House during the midterm elections, will they vote for legislation in a chamber that, in just two months, they will control?Either way, the fact that the House doesn't plan to return before the elections means that, in likely some way, the results will impact membership views and perhaps voting trends. It creates more unpredictability in a chamber that swims in volatility.This is no normal bill, either.The legislation would grant the NCAA an antitrust exemption — a rarity!

— to limit athlete transfer movement (one transfer without penalty); standardize a five-year eligibility policy; more strictly regulate a new, increased player revenue-share cap; create an agent registry with a maximum 5% fee.The bill also paves the way for Football Bowl Subdivision conferences to pool their media rights; features an anti-conference expansion section; and prevents coaches, who have left before a team's season ends, from performing duties at another university (the so-called Lane Kiffin Rule).SCORE Act, other issuesFor years, perhaps even decades, animosity and dissension has existed between the upper (Senate) and lower chamber (House) of Congress.That may be stronger now than ever."The House doesn't just take bills because they have passed the Senate," said one congressional expert who's spent years on Capitol Hill. "This is personal. Ted Cruz is holding up several House bills in the Senate."It's personal for another reason: House lawmakers poured years and resources into a separate college sports bill, the House-authored SCORE Act, which failed to gain the necessary votes in the chamber twice last fall and again this past spring. The SCORE Act, friendlier to the NCAA and authored by Republicans, did not even garner enough Republican support.The legislation even struggled to advance through the first step in the House's bill approval process, which is passage through the House Rules Committee, made up of Republican and Democrat lawmakers.Many House members, comparing the two bills side by side, want the PCSA revised with components that existed within the SCORE Act, including most notably a provision that prevents college athletes from being deemed employees.There are plenty more problematic issues for House members, such as the legislation offering athletes a pathway to private right-of-action (Republicans traditionally don't support such a concept); those against heavy government involvement in any industry; uncertain funding around historically Black colleges; and a conference expansion provision that's flustered several state delegations whose universities hope to, one day, move conferences — Florida's most of all.Various factionsLast year, the 58-member House Congressional Black Caucus — a group of left-leaning Democrats — stood against the SCORE Act. Also last year: Some of the 30-plus member House Freedom Caucus — right-wing Republicans — did the same.This is a good example of an issue — regulating college sports — that has created divide within parties and generated strange bedfellows.The many factions and groups in a 435-member chamber often complicate any voting process.Already, the CBC has publicly opposed the Protect College Sports Act. Freedom Caucus members are expected to raise key concerns, including possibly wanting a limitation on foreign athletes permitted on college rosters.Some Freedom Caucus and CBC members are on the all-powerful House Rules Committee, a group that must approve any legislation for it to reach the floor for a vote. There is a more unconventional way for legislation to reach the House floor, such as a suspension of the rules, which Speaker Johnson can call. However, a suspension bill vote must gain two-thirds majority for passage — a difficult task.That doesn't mention House-induced revisions and amendments to the bill that would then need Senate support.Buckle up for several more weeks of lobbying, stumping and — unfortunately — political ad campaigns.This article originally appeared on Yahoo Sports at https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/after-senate-passes-protect-college-sports-act-does-it-have-a-chance-in-the-house-023130918.html