A practical lawyering perspective on the Protect College Sports Act: if the current version of PCSA becomes law, institutions will have several implementation decisions to work through (and a few more unfunded mandates). Much of that work would involve reviewing existing policies, clarifying responsibilities, and coordinating the offices that support college athletes. Requirements vary by division and, in some instances, athletics revenue, so the starting point is identifying which provisions apply. Five areas deserve attention. Health and safety oversight. Section 107 requires an athletic health and safety officer who is independent of athletics and reports to someone likewise independent. It also addresses medical decision-making and institutional responses to abuse, hazing, and sexual misconduct. Schools would need to determine where that role belongs within their existing structure, what authority and resources it requires, and how it coordinates with athletics, medical personnel, student affairs, and other relevant offices. §107 Academic, scholarship, and medical protections. Section 105 protects academic choice and limits scholarship reductions based on performance, injury, illness, or roster management, subject to specified exceptions. Section 106 establishes medical coverage requirements for covered Division I athletes, including certain expenses extending beyond participation. The practical task would be comparing those requirements with current scholarship terms, advising practices, insurance coverage, and procedures for handling medical expenses—and identifying any gaps. §§105–106 Financial administration and reporting. Section 104 requires Division I reporting on NIL and other athlete compensation. Section 114 addresses compensation arrangements and certifications for certain third-party transactions. Section 125 establishes protections for non-revenue-sport roster spots and scholarship opportunities at covered institutions. Athletics, finance, advancement, and counsel would need a shared understanding of who approves transactions, verifies information, maintains records, and reviews proposed changes to athletic opportunities. §§104, 114, 125 Responding to athlete concerns. Section 119 permits private actions for specified violations, subject to a 30-day notice requirement and a conditional opportunity to cure. Section 120 separately protects specified reporting and participation concerning PCSA or Title IX; its separate enforcement mechanism does not carry §119’s notice-and-cure requirement. Institutions would benefit from a clear process for routing notices, reviewing concerns, and responding within applicable deadlines. Existing complaint procedures would be a sensible starting point. §§119–120 Continuing employment and Title IX analysis. Section 122 leaves athlete employment status unresolved, and §127 preserves Title IX’s application. Institutions would therefore continue evaluating employment classification, organizing activity, compensation allocation, and participation opportunities alongside the new statutory framework. Compliance with PCSA would not, by itself, resolve those questions. §§122, 127

SMH. College athletics needs to fix itself and start exercising a modicum of fiscal discipline. It is hard to overstate how many hundreds of millions of dollars are wasted because this industry has normalized contracting practices that virtually no other industry in America would tolerate. Yet instead of making relatively simple changes to save money, the system seems to demand restraint only when the money might reach athletes.