Texas Tech megabooster Cody Campbell and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark spoke at the White House on Friday. They were among more than 40 attendees who took part in a one-hour, 47-minute Saving College Sports roundtable. I watched the entire thing, so you don’t have to.

While that meeting drew plenty of headlines, I think the biggest news of the day for the Big 12 was what happened almost immediately afterward.

U.S. senators Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) responded to the roundtable by releasing a bipartisan discussion draft of the College Sports Competitiveness Act, which would amend the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 and allow all college football conferences to sell their media rights together. 

This is exactly what Campbell and Smash Sports have been pushing for. In their estimation, it would unlock up to $7 billion more in revenue for the schools. And while SEC and Big Ten schools would make more money than they do now, it would also shrink the gap between the Power Two and the rest of the college football world. 

We’ve now had more tangible movement toward pooling media rights in the last week than we had in the previous year.

Last Tuesday’s secret Smash Sports meeting about Project Rudy drew representatives from the SEC and Big Ten against the will of Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti. Then on Friday, we got the introduction of a bipartisan bill. 

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Democrats and Republicans virtually never work together on anything. 

After listening to plenty of attendees at the White House roundtable complain about the lack of bipartisan support for the SCORE Act, it seems significant that it happened here. 

There’s a long way to go before this passes. And even if it does, you’d still have to get the SEC and Big Ten to agree to it. 

But this is real progress. The more momentum this gains, the more pressure it puts on Sankey and Petitti.

Beyond generating more revenue through pooled media rights, here’s what Schmitt and Cantwell say the College Sports Competitiveness Act would do:

• Reward conferences and teams that drive the value up while also ensuring every school receives more revenue

• Create a 14-member board that fairly represents the institutions that generate the most revenue and includes athletes, media experts, and academic institutions

• Protect women’s and Olympic sports by ensuring teams and scholarships won’t be cut

• Allow out-of-market fans to be able to watch their team anywhere

The first two bullet points sound very much in line with the Smash Sports plan to create a tiered revenue distribution system. That would allow teams to play their way into a higher tier. If you generate more viewership and win more games, you get a bigger slice of the pie.

That’s where the Big Ten and SEC would lose some of their edge. You would no longer have to be in one of those two conferences to receive top-dollar media revenue.

What else will ultimately come of the White House roundtable, specifically? 

Your guess is as good as mine. 

President Trump ended by saying that he will put together an executive order that will “solve every problem in this room—every conceivable problem within one week.” 

That seems like an awfully lofty goal, especially while the country is at war. 

We also already saw an executive order regarding college sports over the summer that made very little tangible impact. 

Campbell used his time at the mic on Friday to stress to President Trump that there are too many agendas in the room for everyone to get what they want. He said Trump would likely have to twist some arms to get everyone to work together and come up with a solution that leaves everyone somewhat unhappy, which is usually the sign of a good business deal.

I don’t know where this all goes, but I do know that things are happening.

Instead of counting on specific outcomes, I’m taking solace in the fact that there is real movement toward a better future for college sports that isn’t solely dictated by the SEC and Big Ten.

What You Need to Know

• After losing three straight to end the regular season, UCF is squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble with Cincinnati. Here’s the latest from Joe Lunardi. 

• Here is this week’s Big 12 men’s basketball tournament bracket.

• BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and KU’s Darryn Peterson continue to tease that they might return to college next season. 

• K-State’s search for a head coach is winding down. Here’s when you can expect a hire to be made and who the finalists appear to be. 

• Speaking of the bubble, we’re seeing some real SEC bias keeping Cincinnati out of the field right now.

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