Keeping Score

SCORE Act pulled from House floor after CBC opposition

by Dominick Mastrangelo - 05/19/26 9:42 AM ET

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by Dominick Mastrangelo - 05/19/26 9:42 AM ET

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The SCORE Act, a landmark piece of legislation that would have paved the way for new standards in college sports on matters including revenue sharing and athlete compensation, will not be brought to the House floor for a vote this week, according to a House GOP staffer who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

This week’s failed effort is the second time in less than a year the bill — which sought to grant the NCAA limited antitrust protections as it faces increasing legal challenges around issues such as eligibility — has failed to advance in the House amid criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on Monday came out against the legislation, which it said would “benefit major athletic institutions that continue to remain silent while Black voting rights and Black political power are being systematically dismantled across the South.”

“For generations, Black athletes have helped build college athletics into one of the most powerful and profitable industries in American life. The success, visibility, and cultural influence of major athletic conferences and institutions are inseparable from the talent, labor, leadership, and cultural contributions of Black communities,” the CBC said. “Yet at the very moment those same communities face coordinated attacks on their democratic representation, too many leaders across college athletics have chosen silence.”

President Trump had voiced support for the bill, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told the president during a meeting earlier this year he believed his leadership had secured enough votes for its passage.

Trump has vowed to work with lawmakers to “save college sports” and floated issuing an executive order as the SCORE Act was being crafted in the House.

Johnson had tried to push through a similar version of the SCORE Act last fall, but was stymied after opposition from some Republicans including Reps. Chip Roy (Texas) and Byron Donalds (Fla.), who argued it granted the NCAA too much power.

The NCAA and its leadership have argued for months that Congress needs to intervene in the changing landscape of college sports, where student athletes are making record amounts of money in name, image and likeness endorsement deals and the so-called transfer portal is raising intensifying questions about eligibility and competitive balance.

Sudiksha Kochi contributed.

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