The Dartmouth Men’s Basketball team voted this week to unionize. All of the players participated in the vote, with 13-2 in favor of joining the Service Employees International Union Local 560. The union already represents some Dartmouth workers. According to the Associated Press, it marks “an unprecedented step toward forming the first labor union for college athletes and another blow to the NCAA’s deteriorating amateur business model."
If you would like more context on this matter, please consider Lisa Delpy Neirotti, the director of the MS in Sport Management Program and an associate professor of Sport Management at the George Washington University. She has been a professor of sport, event and tourism management at GW for more than 30 years. Beyond her responsibilities at GW, Dr. Delpy Neirotti works with a number of sport event organizations, sponsors, and professional teams to conduct economic and market research studies including the Olympic Games, World Cup, College Football Bowl Games, among others.
Delpy Neirotti can discuss the implications of this vote, its impact on the NCAA and topics related to NIL. She says this move could be the start of professionalism or minor-league college athletics, where private equity starts to own teams and license the name from the university.
If you would like to speak with Professor Delpy Neirotti, please contact Media Relations Specialist Cate Douglass at [email protected].
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