The NCAA has asked the leaders of schools around the nation to publicly oppose athletic unions and discourage them at their institutions.
According to the Associated Press, the NCAA issued a memo stating unions would lead to fewer scholarships, championships and career counseling. For now, only Northwestern University's football team could form a union, pending an appeal, but nothing is stopping other school teams from filing a similar petition in their own city.
"Do we really want to signal to society and high school students that making money is the reason to come play a sport in college, as opposed to getting an education, which will benefit you for a lifetime?" the NCAA's memo read. "That's not the message I want to send."
Led by last year's quarterback Kain Colter, a group of Northwestern football players won their hearing with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Chicago to be considered university employees. They will be able to form a union as long as the NLRB in Washington D.C. upholds the ruling after an appeal from the school.
Colter, who will be graduating this spring, argued playing football under a scholarship was like having a job. He testified he devoted around 50 hours a week to football related activities and had to leave the pre-med major he was in because the coursework was too much to balance with football.
The NCAA has already begun the process of making changes at the five "power conferences" of Division I athletics. Schools in the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC are set to gain more autonomy. The objective is to allow these schools to cover the actual full cost of attendance for their scholarship basketball and football players, since those two sports generate the most revenue by far.
NCAA president Mark Emmert has fiercely defended the organization's model of amateurism, citing concerns that smaller schools would be treated unfairly as are the women's teams.
Spokeswoman Stacey Osburn told the AP Monday the memo was meant to act as a guide for each school to form their own views. Regardless, the NCAA wants the schools to stand united with it in opposing unions.
"As a membership organization, it is our responsibility to provide accurate and timely information on matters impacting college sports," she said. "Our members requested facts and data on pay-for-play because there was so much misinformation in the media, based in part on public statements from those who are advancing the union movement and those who have brought suit against the NCAA."
