Dartmouth Refuses to Bargain with Men’s Basketball Team
Two weeks ago, the Dartmouth men’s basketball team made history by voting to form a union. This had never been done at the collegiate level, and has the potential to shift the very economy under which the NCAA was founded. If student-athletes are considered employees of the university, they will be subject to collective bargaining rights, standard pay, worker’s compensation, and other benefits.
Because of this, colleges and the NCAA alike are fighting hard to combat this movement, and Dartmouth has now declared that they simply refuse to bargain with Dartmouth Men’s Basketball. The main purpose of this refusal is to trigger an additional legal process, which will effectively extend their appeal process into a years long effort rather than a months long one. The thinking, most likely, is to try and determine a better solution for their student-athlete population than a full dip into union backed employment, but that will most likely require an overhaul at the NCAA level or dissolution of the NCAA to complete.
The reality is, this process is going to be a marathon and we’ve all just seen the first mile complete. The precedent set in these two cases have the potential to drastically change policy in college athletics, but we have a long way to go until we determine if that shift will come.
