Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn ImagesThe Protect College Sports Act of 2026 has been covered primarily through the lens of introducing reform and guardrails into the current landscape of college athletics. The Act also addresses sports broadcasting by working to maintain antitrust protection for collective college sports broadcast negotiations and “market-level” broadcast access for college football and basketball games, as well as legislation focused squarely on HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges & Universities), per HBCU Gameday. Title III is the IGNITE HBCUs Sports and Media Act and is aimed at creating competitive grants for long-term improvements to broadband, information technology, and media infrastructure at eligible Black colleges. IGNITE could have major implications for the MEAC and SWAC, which have long-term ESPN media rights deals, as well as the CIAA and SIAC, which are exploring the next steps of their media rights journeys following the expiration of their HBCU GO agreements. The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the Protect College Sports Act of 2026 by a 19-9 vote on June 18, and the bill’s 171-page text has been finalized.