http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/1...abor-union

Quote:Ramogi Huma, president of the National College Players Association, filed a petition in Chicago on behalf of football players at Northwestern University, submitting the form at the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board.

Quote:The formal entity that would represent the players, if certified by the NLRB, is called the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA). It was created by Huma, Colter and Luke Bonner, a former U-Mass basketball player and brother of NBA player Matt Bonner, with technical support from the United Steelworkers, who will not receive union dues from players, said Huma, who is registered as president of the organization.

Quote:Huma said the goals of the CAPA is the same as the NCPA. The group has pressed for better concussion and other medical protections, and for scholarships to cover the full cost of attendance.

Having already successfully advocated for the creation of multi-year scholarships, it now would like those scholarships to be guaranteed even if a player is no longer able to continue for injury or medical reasons. The group has also called for a trust fund that players could tap into after their NCAA eligibility expires to finish schooling or be rewarded for finishing schooling.

Quote:The initial goals of the CAPA do not include a call for schools to pay salaries, Huma said. However, he declined to rule out the possibility that CAPA would seek that type of compensation in the future and said he knows the public will begin speculating about scenarios in which players would receive a cut of the $5.15 billion in revenues currently generated by athletic departments in the five power conferences.

Quote:At the outset, only Division I FBS football players and men's basketball players -- the athletes at the center of the commercial enterprise -- will be eligible to join CAPA because they are best situated to make a case to be treated as employees, Huma said. Over time, the CAPA may expand its scope to include other sports.

He said only scholarship players are eligible for inclusion, as they have are already being compensated by schools in the form of a "grant-in-aid" that is capped at the level of tuition, room and board, books and fees.

But the scope of this union might be limited:

Quote:The NLRA governs only private enterprises and does apply to public universities. As a private university, Northwestern University falls under its jurisdiction. Gerard said that based on labor law, any decision in favor of the players against Northwestern would apply to all private universities across the country in the FBS division. It would not apply to public universities, which are governed by state laws.

This will take years to resolve, but it's only a natural evolution of the process of paying college athletes.

This is silly. It isn't that easy. They are just making this whole issue muddier.

John Infante ‏@John_Infante 5 mins
With an actual unionization movement, O’Bannon, and concussion lawsuits, the professionalization/student-athlete rights movement is all-in

John Infante ‏@John_Infante 4 mins
If the NCAA wins on all of them, student-athletes ability to work outside the system would be crushed.

(01-28-2014 10:54 AM)CommuterBob Wrote:  This will take years to resolve, but it's only a natural evolution of the process of paying college athletes.

Yes.

(01-28-2014 10:56 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  This is silly. It isn't that easy. They are just making this whole issue muddier.

What?

As usual, money corrupts. The game will be changing from here on and with this move, the P5 has now lost the ability to fully control their fate. The employees will now have a much larger voice than the P5 ever intended. Still, the P5 have the resources to deal with these expenses. Can the G5 absorb the new layer of costs that will flow from footballs new player "rights". I doubt most FCS programs can afford the new costs that are probably coming. Im not even sure the G5 can.

(01-28-2014 11:32 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  The employees will now have a much larger voice than the P5 ever intended.

You got that right.

The P5 is simply determined to pry open Pandora's Box, come what may. I think they will be surprised at some of the things that fly out of it.

Being unionized without paying dues? Yeah, that won't fly for very long. How else will the Union leaders get to spend lavish amounts on themselves without any money coming in.
If the athlete is considered an employee, then guess we can see what Delany mentioned we could see a big increase in the D3 type level. Not that Michigan will be playing Willamette University (Oregon), but there could a FBS non-schollie division of some sort.

(01-28-2014 11:57 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  Not that Michigan will be playing Willamette University (Oregon), but there could a FBS non-schollie division of some sort.

There are already FCS non-scholarship football leagues, including the Pioneer Football League. I've wondered why that route isn't taken by more FCS football programs, especially those that don't draw huge crowds and don't regularly send their teams to the FCS playoffs.

As for the union, I strongly suspect that its primary purpose will be to administer any funds that might be owed to current (not former) NCAA athletes from a settlement of the O'Bannon lawsuit.

(01-28-2014 10:56 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  This is silly. It isn't that easy. They are just making this whole issue muddier.

The Unions are looking for an easy buck, and a symbol of relevance.

(01-28-2014 12:06 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(01-28-2014 11:57 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  Not that Michigan will be playing Willamette University (Oregon), but there could a FBS non-schollie division of some sort.

There are already FCS non-scholarship football leagues, including the Pioneer Football League. I've wondered why that route isn't taken by more FCS football programs, especially those that don't draw huge crowds and don't regularly send their teams to the FCS playoffs.

As for the union, I strongly suspect that its primary purpose will be to administer any funds that might be owed to current (not former) NCAA athletes from a settlement of the O'Bannon lawsuit.

I did forget about the Pioneer League. That league has grown in recent years (7 team to 12 teams ). They now have an auto bid so I think there still may be growth in that league and then into 2 separate conference for FCS football.

(01-28-2014 11:57 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  Being unionized without paying dues? Yeah, that won't fly for very long. How else will the Union leaders get to spend lavish amounts on themselves without any money coming in.
If the athlete is considered an employee, then guess we can see what Delany mentioned we could see a big increase in the D3 type level. Not that Michigan will be playing Willamette University (Oregon), but there could a FBS non-schollie division of some sort.

My guess is that the union would get a cut of the trust fund they would set up for players to access after their eligibility is up.

If the P5 commisioners are determined to grab all of the cash they can, then I am in favor of "worker's rights" for the players to grab more than the pittance the P5 commisioners are willing to dole out.

Sounds like a Democrat proposal to Me.

(01-28-2014 12:09 PM)MWC Tex Wrote:  

(01-28-2014 12:06 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(01-28-2014 11:57 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  Not that Michigan will be playing Willamette University (Oregon), but there could a FBS non-schollie division of some sort.

There are already FCS non-scholarship football leagues, including the Pioneer Football League. I've wondered why that route isn't taken by more FCS football programs, especially those that don't draw huge crowds and don't regularly send their teams to the FCS playoffs.

As for the union, I strongly suspect that its primary purpose will be to administer any funds that might be owed to current (not former) NCAA athletes from a settlement of the O'Bannon lawsuit.

I did forget about the Pioneer League. That league has grown in recent years (7 team to 12 teams ). They now have an auto bid so I think there still may be growth in that league and then into 2 separate conference for FCS football.

I agree, I think the obvious next growth step is to split the PFL into northern and southern leagues, once they get at least 7 or 8 schools in each region, though the FCS powers-that-be won't want to give a second playoff autobid to non-scholarship leagues, which might mean they split the PFL into two divisions with a playoff game.

This is hyperbole at its best. Kain Colter (NW QB) called the NCAA a "dictatorship."

Here's the full statement from the Northwestern football team:


https://twitter.com/Rohan_NU/status/4282...to/1/large

(01-28-2014 12:59 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  This is hyperbole at its best. Kain Colter (NW QB) called the NCAA a "dictatorship."

Here's the full statement from the Northwestern football team:


https://twitter.com/Rohan_NU/status/4282...to/1/large

He's not very well educated. Its a mindless bureaucracy.

http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/medi...n-proposal

The NCAA response:

Quote:This union-backed attempt to turn student-athletes into employees undermines the purpose of college: an education. Student-athletes are not employees, and their participation in college sports is voluntary. We stand for all student-athletes, not just those the unions want to professionalize.

Basically, "bring it. We got this."

(01-28-2014 01:50 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/medi...n-proposal

The NCAA response:

Quote:This union-backed attempt to turn student-athletes into employees undermines the purpose of college: an education. Student-athletes are not employees, and their participation in college sports is voluntary. We stand for all student-athletes, not just those the unions want to professionalize.

Basically, "bring it. We got this."

By their own admission, a scholarship is worth over 100K during a 4 year period--more if the athlete redshirts. There is compensation. There is the risk of severe injury. The "voluntary participation" argument is irrelevant. All employment (other than the draft) is voluntary--so that doesn't really prove anything. If the player stops doing his "voluntary" tasks, his scholly isn't going to last long. Im not sure its as open and shut as the NCAA would like. I suspect they would rather avoid this tar pit if at all possible.

The issue of employment is a valid one. These kids are not wage earners, or employees receiving remuneration for their work. They are students who happen to take part in athletics strictly speaking. That's a big difference.

The NCAA will just cut folks like this out.

I'll be on board with players getting paid when athletic departments are self-sustaining. There are only a handful that are. The rest either get money from the university's general funds or from the other students. It would be criminal to take that money (esp. from student fees) to pay players.