​The Protect College Sports Act passed the Senate on Monday by a vote of 77-22, a landmark legislative step toward unprecedented federal regulation of intercollegiate athletics.The bipartisan bill, co-authored by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), would give the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption to establish new rules on athlete eligibility, transfers and compensation, while putting notable restraints on conference realignment and the formation of a future super league. It would also increase the revenue-sharing cap from roughly $20 million annually per school to nearly $50 million, with newly established buckets of money for player retention and non-revenue sports.The antitrust exemption, similar to those given to professional sports leagues, would curb the lawsuits and legal challenges that have handcuffed the NCAA and its conferences in recent years.Senate approval is a massive win for the NCAA and its conferences, which have spent years and millions of dollars lobbying for a federal law to help create and enforce rules.But in order to be signed into law by President Donald Trump, a vocal supporter of the bill, the Protect College Sports Act must also pass the House of Representatives by a simple majority.That vote could still be weeks away and may face additional challenges, which means this historic day for the governance of college sports is not even close to the end of the story.“There is much work left to do to ensure student-athlete benefits are codified into federal law and future generations of young people can access those benefits and use college sports as the launching point for their careers,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement Monday night.Here’s what’s next for the Protect College Sports Act.Next stop: The House … eventuallyLet’s start with the biggest problem: The House is currently out of session after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) abruptly sent members home last week to campaign for midterm elections after Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced impeachment articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.That means no votes on anything until after Nov. 3. Things change on Capitol Hill frequently, but it’s unlikely the House will reopen, and if it does, the Protect College Sports Act probably won’t be the priority.After the midterm elections, the Protect College Sports Act could be among the first items lawmakers get to, especially after it received such strong support in the Senate.The election results will play a role, though. If Republicans hold on to their majority, the bill should get through. If Democrats win the House, things get more complicated, as it would need to pass through a lame-duck session, in which the current majority is on its way out.Typically, that’s not a productive time in Congress, between the transition of power and the compressed calendar around holiday breaks in November and December. But it does happen. The Aviation Safety and Reform Act was passed d