What Dartmouth Basketball’s Union Vote Could Mean for College Athletic Departments

The Dartmouth College men’s basketball team’s historic vote to unionize last week has the potential to be a tipping point in college athletics after years of upheaval over players’ pay and working conditions. The team voted 13-2 to be represented by the Service Employees International Union on March 5.

The Dartmouth election follows a 2021 ruling by the Supreme Court which opened the door for greater compensation for student-athletes in a unanimous ruling that NCAA rules prohibiting compensation to student-athletes violated antitrust laws. 

More recently, a Feb. 5 decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) allowed college athletes to be considered employees.

Higher education has already been a hotbed of union activity, with the sector adding more new union members than any other economic sector in recent years. 

Given this trend within higher education, recent court rulings, and the NLRB decision we expect to see continued activity in unionization efforts at other universities' athletic departments.

The PoliciPro team will continue to monitor developments surrounding union activity in college athletic departments and provide updates to our readers and clients. 

If you want to track and monitor labor policies impacting universities across the country email the PoliciPro team at contact@policipro.com.