Today it was announced that football players at Northwestern University could create the nation’s
first union of college athletes for private universities.
The decision was passed down by Peter Sung Ohr, regional director of the National Labor Relations Board. Some of the key points from his decision follow:
- Football players qualify as employees because they receive compensation (scholarships) and they are under the control of a manager (the coach and athletic program).
- Football players are recruited because of their athletic ability, not their academic achievements.
- Football players are not allowed to miss entire practices or games to attend classes, lecture sessions, group projects, or take tests. In fact, the opposite is true – they miss class to travel to play in games.
- The life of a football player is more regimented than an average student. Players are given diets to follow and have NCAA restrictions that govern what they are allowed to do in their personal lives.
Some of Ohr’s key points raise serious questions about the argument made by many college officials that athletic programs are an integral part of university academics.
If the players vote to authorize the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA) to represent them they will reportedly address sports-related medical expenses for current and former players, reduction of head injuries, and allo
wing players to pursue commercial sponsorships. While the first two items have a strong “feel-good” appeal, the latter issue is the heart-of-the matter.
Right or wrong, a union of college athletes ultimately is about money.
Many years ago R.E.M. wrote a song that sums up the situation best, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It.” If 
this moves forward, college athletics programs will never be the same.