Reporter's Notebook: College sports bill enters legislative 'red zone' as season kicks off

The college football season kicks off this Saturday with North Carolina playing Texas Christian University in Dublin, Ireland.

This marks the start of a sprint until early April when college football and basketball practically compete on a near-daily basis with MLB, the NFL, the NBA and NHL.

This college football season begins with lawmakers falling short of a goal to pass a bill to alter the flow of money in college sports.

And despite recent momentum, lawmakers may be lucky to pass the bill when the clock shows zeroes on April 5 in Detroit and the NCAA crowns its next basketball Final Four champion.

PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT STALLS IN OVERNIGHT SENATE SHOWDOWN, VOTE PUSHED TO SEPTEMBER AFTER CHAOTIC EVENING President Trump demanded that the Senate stay in session this month to pass a bipartisan college sports measure.

That wasn’t going to happen simply because the bill’s not ready yet.

The measure didn’t even secure a specific agreement for a test vote when the Senate returns in September.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said there was a deal for a vote at some point.

However, an unrelated bill to regulate cryptocurrency marshaled a concrete time for a test vote on the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept.

15.

The college sports measure didn’t head into the August recess with that level of certainty.

But the one thing that is certain? Intercollegiate athletics face myriad problems.

"College sports right now is in crisis.

It is chaos that is ripping college sports apart," said Cruz.