Over 100 women’s college basketball players join push to unionize
More than 100 women’s college basketball players signed on to unionize with the United College Athletes Association, the organization announced on Friday. It marks a significant, athlete-led development toward collective bargaining in college sports, an idea that has gained increased attention as legal challenges have reshaped the industry in recent years.
As part of the UCAA campaign, members of Oregon State women’s basketball filed a petition for union representation with the Oregon Employment Relations Board and are expected to request that the university grant them employee status voluntarily.
The UCAA, which began forming more than two years ago, is working to build a national coalition that represents college athletes in unionization and collective bargaining efforts across different schools and conferences amid varying state laws and university regulations.
“We deserve a seat at the table, meaningful protections, fair compensation, and a collective bargaining agreement that raises the standard for everyone,” said Oluchi Okananwa, a Maryland senior guard and UCAA interim president. “We are building lasting power for the athletes competing today and those who will come after us.”
Friday’s announcement comes in the same week Stanford football players formed the first chapter of the College Football Players Association led by active athletes.
This also comes as the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan bill that addresses a wide range of issues within college sports, lacks support from the Big Ten and SEC conferences and is running out of time to pass it through Congress before the midterm elections this fall.
College sports leaders have spent years lobbying Congress for antitrust exemptions to stem the tide of legal challenges. As another high-profile attempt flounders, some in the industry are pointing to collective bargaining as the most viable path forward. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey mentioned it as a potential consideration at conference media days in July.
There have been previous unionization attempts in college sports over the past decade-plus, but many have stalled or fizzled. Unionization is challenging with a large, disparate and transient group of athletes. The NCAA and member schools have previously opposed college athletes’ employment status, but a desire for stability has created newfound momentum for collective bargaining.
In 2014, Northwestern football players tried to form a union to seek employment status, but the National Labor Relations Board rejected the petition.
In 2024, Dartmouth’s men’s basketball team made a similar push and voted to form a union, with pushback from both the university and the Ivy League. The petition was withdrawn due to anticipated change in NLRB leadership under the incoming Donald Trump presidential administration.
“As women’s basketball players, we know that our game is growing exponentially, our labor is exceptionally valuable, and our unions can deliver transformational victories for past, current, and future generations,” WNBPA president and UCAA adviser Nneka Ogwumike said. “The bottom line is simple: college athletes deserve the same rights and protections as professional athletes.
— Ralph D. Russo contributed to this story