RULING: Northwestern Scholarship Athletes can Unionize

[bbdude]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10677763/northwestern-wildcats-football-players-win-bid-unionize

 

[Randolph Duke]

Mark Emmert's days at the NCAA are numbered. There is no way he has the skills necessary to guide college athletics through the changes that are about to break loose. The next big thing will be the Univ of Maryland exit fee ruling.

 

[Lord Vader]

This pleases me. Its time to end the NCAA

 

[BevoBlake]

Huge day for College Sports. This could end the NCAA.

 

[Topstarr]

NCAA has ended and we will expand the big 12

 

[BBQ time]

The NCAA definition of amateur athelete was dumped by the Olympics 20+ years ago. The NCAA still treats atheletes like endentured servants. I would like to see a movie like wolf of Wall Street made about college athletics.

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

Apparently, this NLRB ruling only affects athletes at private universities. Will unionization of their athletes give them a competitive advantage? More financial support; ie "full cost of attendance", medical benefits, etc.?

I mean, SMU has treated their guys like pros for years. This may give Baylor and TCU a leg up!

 

[SFlonghorngirl]

RD, how would this ruling impact non-revenue sports? For instance, Olympic sports could fold due to lack of funding?

 

[Randolph Duke]

Here is the money quote from the ruling:

Understandably, the goal of the football program is to field the most competitive team possible. To further this end, players on scholarship are initially sought out, recruited and ultimately granted scholarships because of their athletic prowess on the football field. Thus, it is clear that the scholarships the players receive is compensation for the athletic services they perform for the Employer throughout the calendar year, but especially during the regular season and postseason.

http://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/nlrb-director-region-13-issues-decision-northwestern-university-athletes

 

[Randolph Duke]

Apparently, this NLRB ruling only affects athletes at private universities. Will unionization of their athletes give them a competitive advantage? More financial support; ie "full cost of attendance", medical benefits, etc.?
I mean, SMU has treated their guys like pros for years. This may give Baylor and TCU a leg up!

What makes you think it applies only to private universities? if you read the ruling, it makes no distinction between football players at private or public universities.

 

[Randolph Duke]

RD, how would this ruling impact non-revenue sports? For instance, Olympic sports could fold due to lack of funding?

Who knows what the effect will be on non-revenue sports. Everything is speculation at this point. My guess would be that non-revenue sports will become club sports. Women's sports will probably get crushed by this because Title IX says nothing about universities having to hire employees in a manner consistent with the gender proportions of the student body and this ruling says football players are employees under federal labor law.

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

What makes you think it applies only to private universities? if you read the ruling, it makes no distinction between football players at private or public universities.

I don't know. Kristi Dosh, Miss Sports Biz, seems to have that opinion.

https://twitter.com/SportsBizMiss/status/448902423919489024

 

[Randolph Duke]

I don't know. Kristi Dosh, Miss Sports Biz, seems to have that opinion.
https://twitter.com/SportsBizMiss/status/448902423919489024

Technically, the ruling only affects football players at Northwestern and their ability to unionize. As a right to work state, Texas labor law would apply to the question of whether football players at private universities in Texas would be able to unionize. The law treats public employers differently than private employers, so I see where she is saying the ruling will affect government entities differently than private employers.

What is important in the ruling is that Northwestern football players are considered employees under federal law. All college football players will be considered employees, not just ones at private colleges. It would be tough to argue Texas football players are not similarly suited as Northwestern players, so it is just a matter of time until all each state has its precedent that its college athletes are considered employees.

 

[Topstarr]

if they are employees, then might IRS tax them for their pay as in books, education, meals and teachers teaching? and housing

 

[Randolph Duke]

if they are employees, then might IRS tax them for their pay as in books, education, meals and teachers teaching? and housing

Not "might." You can almost be positive they will. As university employees, anything they receive of value becomes taxable, just as any other employee is. For a school like Northwestern where tuition is over $60,000 and state taxes are high, the university will be faced with cutting a check to each football player of close to $100,000/yr just to pay taxes.

 

[Randolph Duke]

Two interesting thoughts. The ruling points out that walk-ons are not similarly suited as scholarship athletes. Walk-ons are not considered as employees. Also, the union will attempt collective bargaining with each university whose athletes choose to unionize. Part of that collective bargaining will most certainly be that the "employee" agrees on standards of conduct so getting arrested, losing eligibility, etc would arguably be an actionable breach of contract. What will remain to be seen is whether a university employer has the legal right to limit outside employment by an employee on their free time, so we may have entered the age where Bob the Booster can "employ" a college football player and pay him unlimited amounts of money.

 

[doc longhorn]

This is the end of college sports as we know it. There will eventually be no need for a college athlete to attend school classes or to have a college scholarship that includes academics. They will simply represent schools as paid athletes - just as the professionals represent their cities.

 

[Randolph Duke]

This is the end of college sports as we know it. There will eventually be no need for a college athlete to attend school classes or to have a college scholarship that includes academics. They will simply represent schools as paid athletes - just as the professionals represent their cities.

Yep. Vince could be our qb for another 10 years if this ruling is upheld. No high school recruiting, no enrollment requirement, no limit to eligibility.

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

http://www.redstate.com/2014/03/26/achilles-heel-amidst-nlrbs-rationale-ruling-college-football-players-can-unionize/