Video Congress targets college sports NIL rules as senators push bipartisan legislation Fox News correspondent Garrett Tenney reports on a bipartisan push by U.S. senators for the ‘Protect College Sports Act of 2026’ on ‘Fox News Sunday.’
Nothing says college football like Ted Cruz and Rece Davis.
Cruz made a nearly 10-minute cameo on ESPN's College GameDay Saturday morning to push the "Protect College Sports Act," which is currently collecting dust in Congress. Among the many things Cruz said, the most notable was this:
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Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the bill — and believe me, I'll keep that brief — we have to address the elephant in the room.
Cruz, a Texas senator, got booed so loudly during the entirety of the interview — which took place on the Longhorns' Austin campus — that you could barely hear a word he said.
Goodness gracious. Just a brutal scene here for Ted Cruz. You couldn't hear a thing he said, for the most part, the entire interview. At one point, it sounded like it was finally dying down, only for the "Ted you suck" chants to take over.
Now, I have no idea why they were booing Ted Cruz. The truth is, they don't, either. Do you think a bunch of hungover college kids who haven't slept since Thursday give a you-know-what about the "Protect College Sports Act"?
Sen. Ted Cruz stands on the sidelines during the SEC football game between the Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies on Nov. 28, 2025, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Of course not! They couldn't tell you one single thing in the act, or what it's about, or whether it's good or not. They're not booing the bill itself — which, in theory, will help stabilize the current NIL landscape in college sports, which has spiraled out of control.
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Nick Saban has backed it. Deion Sanders was on a commercial supporting the bill immediately following Cruz's appearance.
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Still, it's struggling to pass. Shocking! That almost never happens in Congress.
Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, talks with a reporter after a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee roundtable on the "Protect College Sports Act and the current state of collegiate athletics" in the Russell building on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
As for the booing ... I assume it's because Cruz A) is a Republican and college campuses lean left, B) students don't want politics on a sports show, C) Austin is a liberal town, or C) all the above.
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He's clearly a Longhorns fan, so you would think that would've been his saving grace here. But not in Austin, which is a liberal haven in a deep red state.
Credit to ESPN for having a Republican on its airwaves, though. That's a big step!
