Dartmouth men’s basketball team votes to unionize, a first in college sports

Dartmouth College’s men’s basketball team voted to unionize Tuesday, moving one step closer to becoming the university’s first union.

The entire team voted 13-2 in favor of joining Service Workers International Union (SEIU) Local 560. The school has until March 12 to file a challenge to the union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

After filing an objection, the parties have 10 days to file an appeal against the decision.

The school has already released a statement emphasizing that the players are not employees and believes the union is “not appropriate.”

“Dartmouth College is proud to have had productive relationships for decades with the five unions that are now part of the campus community. We deeply respect our 1,500 union members, including members of SEIU Local 560, who we negotiated with,” the school said in a statement.

“However, in this isolated situation, the students on the men’s basketball team are never employed by Dartmouth. For Ivy League students who are varsity athletes, academics are of paramount importance, and athletic pursuits are part of the educational experience. Classifying these students as employees simply because they play basketball is both unprecedented and inaccurate. Therefore, we do not believe that unionization is appropriate. I haven’t thought about it,” he added.

If the school rejects the union, it could take years of court proceedings before a final decision is made.

But this step is part of a larger shift in college athletics in recent years.

Dozens of states have enacted or are considering laws that would allow players to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL). Congress has held multiple hearings on how the NIL works and how it protects athletes as more people seek to financially benefit from their efforts as student-athletes. .

The Hill has reached out to SEIU and the men’s basketball team for comment.