Posts tagged NCAA
New Game Plan: White House and Congress Move to Clarify Student Athlete Unionization Rights
July 31, 2025 // The SCORE bill’s ban is broad. Its key provision says, in part: “no individual may be considered an employee of an institution, a conference, or an interstate intercollegiate athletic association based on the participation of such individual on a varsity sports team or in an intercollegiate athletic competition as a student athlete.” In addition, the bill blocks states from enforcing any law that “governs or regulates the compensation, payment, benefits, employment status, or eligibility of a student athlete (including a prospective student athlete) with respect to participation in intercollegiate athletics.” It specifically blocks any state law that “relates to the right of a student athlete to receive compensation or other payments or benefits directly or indirectly from any institution, associated entity or individual, conference, or interstate intercollegiate athletic association.”
Michigan lawmakers introduce state bills paving way for college athletes to unionize
July 10, 2025 // Since July 1, student-athletes must disclose any NIL deals made outside the university worth more than $600 to a new third-party entity called "NIL Go." The NCAA says this ensures both sides are getting a fair value, but Rep. Joe Tate says otherwise. "We want to be clear to make sure that no entity is allowed to interrupt a student-athlete's ability to enter into a contract," said Tate, D-Detroit. "Then they don't have to submit a contract to the NCAA for approval. If you're going to a university in Michigan, it restricts them from doing that."
Tennessee athletic director says collective bargaining with athletes the only solution amid chaos
May 23, 2025 // A federal judge is weighing final approval of a $2.8 billion NCAA antitrust settlement that will clear the way for schools like Tennessee to share as much as $20.5 million directly their athletes every year. Schools are also likely to be asked to fall in line with the settlement given the patchwork of state laws in many places intended to benefit flagship schools.
GOP lawmakers demand info on Biden-era spending used to declare student-athletes as employees
March 3, 2025 // While the change in how college athletes are treated has been welcomed by many, others have been concerned about the move's potential implications. Earlier this month, the Trump administration rescinded the Biden administration NLRB's September 2021 memo insisting college athletes be recognized as employees under federal labor laws. The Trump administration this month also revoked guidance issued by President Joe Biden on his way out of the White House that required schools to distribute direct NIL payments equally to female and male athletes. Aaron Withe, an expert in government unionization and a former college athlete, said he fears continued momentum toward viewing college athletes as strictly employees will destroy college sports. "Are unions going to step in between a coach and their athletes for yelling at the players, or because practice went long or because they're making them run an exceptional amount of lines?" Withe wondered. "If you're represented by a union, they're now your bargaining agent. You have no ability to go represent yourself in anything with the university if it is deemed they are your employer. You've got no ability to go negotiate with them anymore."
Plaintiffs’ letter adds wrinkle to $2.8 billion NCAA settlement
December 12, 2024 // Although the letter lauds the terms of the settlement, House, Prince and Harrison warned that without player representation in negotiations with their schools and conferences, athletes would "inevitably remain in a vulnerable position" and the industry would remain mired in "continued litigation." They asked for the court to "lend its imprimatur" to athletes' efforts to collectively negotiate in the future through a players' association.
Robert Boland: The future of college athlete pay hinges on the presidential election
September 25, 2024 // Most athletes would stand to gain much more from the actions of the NLRB, which could permanently classify collegiate athletes as employees of their universities. This would afford them not only the right to wages but also additional employee benefits such as workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and the right to both unionize and collectively bargain with their schools. The Biden-Harris administration — as well as its NLRB appointees — has been very labor-friendly, and we could expect a Harris-Walz administration to maintain the same approach. However, Republican appointees would be more likely to reject unionization and maintain the NCAA’s status quo — however uncertain — without granting student-athletes employee status or benefits.
Workers at downtown Phoenix hotel strike during Final Four
April 9, 2024 // The news release alleges the unlawful behavior hotel management participated in includes alleged interrogation and alleged surveillance tactics, as well as the alleged unlawful termination of two union employees. "We are saddened that the NCAA made the choice to book the teams playing in the Final Four in at least two hotels who have refused to pay a living wage for the last nine months," UNITE HERE 11 said in a statement posted to "X," formerly known as Twitter. Marriott provided this statement to 12News: "We understand that Unite Here representatives have been actively encouraging our downtown Phoenix hotel associates to engage in a work stoppage since this morning. All of our associates scheduled to work at the Renaissance and Westin and approximately two-thirds of those scheduled to work at the Sheraton came to work today. We respect those associates who exercised their right to refrain from working and those who chose to come to work. We remain available and willing to negotiate in good faith for a fair contract that is in the best interest of our associates, our guests, and our owners.
Opposition to unionization of college athletes
March 14, 2024 // Few adults have an opinion either favorable (14%) or unfavorable (18%) of the NCAA. Most say they don’t know enough about the organization that regulates collegiate athletics to have an opinion (46%) or have neither a favorable nor unfavorable view (23%). The nationwide poll was conducted February 22-26, 2024 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,102 adults. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.1 percentage points.
Dartmouth basketball team votes to unionize, rattling college sports
March 7, 2024 // The team’s 13-2 vote to join SEIU Local 560 is a massive achievement for the long-percolating campaign to upend college sports, and one that could motivate others to follow suit. “It is self-evident that we, as students, can also be both campus workers and union members,” teammates Cade Haskins and Romeo Myrthil, who helped lead the organizing effort, said in a statement Tuesday. “It’s time for the age of amateurism to end.”
Dartmouth Basketball Players can now Unionize
February 8, 2024 // The players were ruled to be employees of the school, meaning they can unionize. Not only will the players be able to negotiate their salaries, but also their practice hours and when they will travel to and from games. However, this would go against the NCAA’s amateurism rule, which states that athletes can not be compensated for competing in college athletics unless the money they receive is from scholarships and expenses. The problem is that Ivy League schools do not award scholarships for athletics meaning the Dartmouth men’s basketball team are essentially playing for free. Another problem is that these athletes are being overworked. According to the players, they testified that they were spending over 40 hours a week playing basketball. The NCAA only allows teams to practice 20 hours a week.