While Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell continue to push back on the SEC and Big Ten's resistance to the Protect College Sports Act, they also made a major concession to both leagues. The Big 12 and ACC have now been added to the list of conferences that wouldn’t be able to expand or merge.

The SEC and Big Ten felt unfairly targeted by the original bill language, which only prevented them, not other conferences, from expanding or merging. The goal was clear: protect college sports from the SEC and Big Ten breaking away to form a Super League by themselves.

With the Big 12 and ACC now added, power conference membership would effectively be frozen if the bill passes.

That’s a huge deal with plenty of consequences, both intended and unintended.

The path TCU, Utah, BYU, Houston, UCF, and Cincinnati took to move from the Group of Six to the Big 12 would be closed to any other schools looking to do the same. Tough luck for Memphis, Boise State, and South Florida. 

But it also means the door would be shut on anybody from the Big 12 or ACC getting the call up to the SEC or Big Ten. That can’t be sitting well in Tallahassee or Clemson, right?

The San Jose Mercury News’ Jon Wilner addressed that last week in his mailbag. 

It was only a couple of years ago that Florida State and Clemson took their own league to court because they were so desperate to leave. Now, they’re looking at a bill with a real chance to become law by this fall that would slam the door on an ACC escape. 

Wouldn’t that create a rush toward a new wave of conference realignment before the bill can pass?

Logically, that makes plenty of sense, but we haven’t seen any real signs of that yet.

Unequal revenue sharing based on brand and performance has made life better for Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, and Clemson in the aftermath of the ACC lawsuits. There is also a massive financial hurdle in the way of leaving. The price to get out of the ACC drops substantially in 2030, but right now, it would cost upwards of $950 million to get out early.  

That’s a crazy amount of money, but never say never when Florida State is involved. Remember, the Noles went as far as digging up nepotism allegations against the former ACC commissioner to try to get out of the league in 2024.

It’s also well-documented that FSU has had conversations with private equity groups over the last few years, preparing for a moment when it may need a cash infusion to mortgage its future by jumping to the SEC or Big Ten.  

It’s at least worth keeping on your radar as the Protect College Sports Act progresses through the Senate. 

I’m also surprised there hasn’t been more grumbling from Texas Tech and Utah about the possibility of conference membership being frozen. 

Many very loud Utah fans have been clamoring for a Big Ten invite since the second the Pac-12 imploded. Plenty have never embraced the Big 12 and desperately want out.

Utah’s $500 million private equity deal was an all-in move designed to position the Utes for that type of invite in the future. 

Unfortunately for them, I don’t think that’s happening anytime soon, even if the Big Ten has free rein to add whomever it pleases. But the door would definitely be shut if the Protect College Sports Act passes. 

The dynamics with Texas Tech are even more interesting. The bill is working its way through Washington right as the Red Raiders are publicly clashing with the Big 12.

Tech fans have been fed up with the league since it cracked down on tortillas and moved a Red Raider home game against Houston to Friday night. 

The Brendan Sorsby battle pitted Texas Tech against the other 15 athletic directors in the league, some of whom went on the record literally cursing the Red Raiders. 

Now, Tech board chair Cody Campbell is actively working to help bring a bill into law that would keep Texas Tech in the same league it is rebelling against. The bill would also put real limits on outside NIL spending beyond the revenue-sharing cap, another piece that would seemingly disadvantage the Red Raiders.

Once again, the reality is that an SEC or Big Ten invite isn’t coming yet, if at all. So it’s in Tech’s best interest to keep the SEC and Big Ten from breaking away. 

Texas Tech also has a pretty cushy setup in the Big 12 right now. If the Red Raiders continue their current trajectory, they could find themselves in the same position Oklahoma occupied for two decades in the Big 12. A manageable path to winning the league and making the playoff every year is available if they maintain a superior roster.

And as much as Texas Tech can spend with the best of them, restoring some level of order with the one-time transfer limit and the five-year eligibility rule might still be in its best interest long term.

Even still, I’m surprised I haven’t seen or heard more grumbling about this from Lubbock. 

Look, I’m very much in favor of the bill passing. I don’t really need to know anything beyond who is strongly against the bill to believe it would be good for college sports and the Big 12.

But I do think the consequences deserve to be spelled out in plain view before the bill comes even closer to becoming law. It’s a lot for certain Big 12, ACC, and Group of Six fan bases to come to terms with. 

What You Need to Know

• A Texas Tech documentary series is coming to Paramount Plus, offering plenty of behind-the-scenes access to what was going on during the Brendan Sorsby saga. 

• Here is the full list of Big 12 players attending Big 12 media days.

• Morgan Scalley and Utah won a pair of Big 12 recruiting battles for some in-state talent. 

• Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard had some pointed comments for Texas Tech while clarifying his stance on the SEC and Big Ten.

• Want your Big 12 news and analysis in podcast form? Listen to Open For Business at the gym, in your car, or first thing in the morning on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.

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