Dartmouth Basketball Players can now Unionize

The National Labor Relations Board announced on Monday that Dartmouth men’s basketball team can form a union.

Potentially huge NCAA news: The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that Dartmouth basketball players are considered employees of the school. They would now be able to proceed with voting to form a union.

Could have enormous implications for college athletics. pic.twitter.com/6di0SuoBtd

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 5, 2024

The Ruling

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.

Was especially curious about the NLRB director's finding that Dartmouth basketball players are employees (and thus can form a union) b/c they receive compensation given the lack of athletic scholarships or NIL agreements in the Ivy League. 1/

— Keith E. Whittington (@kewhittington) February 6, 2024

If the players were to unionize, they would earn at least minimum wage. This would in return eliminate collectives. The players would not need them anymore as they would be earning a salary. This also means that the school would then become the employer while the student athletes become the employees.

Additionally, a vote between the 15 players is expected to happen within the next month. A simple majority, eight, is all that is needed for the players to formally ask their local union, Laborers Local Union 560, if they can join. The union already represents employees that work at Dartmouth.

Potential Implications

In all, it will be interesting to see how this all unfolds. If Dartmouth’s players decide to unionize, will all the athletic programs in the school follow? Also, will all of the teams in the Ivy League follow?

If Ivy league schools have to start paying players, will they shut down their sports programs? There is not a lot of revenue in the Ivy League. Schools will not be able to pay all of their athletes if they unionize.

Only time will tell.