Labor official: Dartmouth players are employees
A National Labor Relations Board regional official ruled that Dartmouth basketball players are employees of the school, clearing the way for an election that would create the first-ever labor union for NCAA athletes.
All 15 members of the Dartmouth men's basketball team signed a petition in September asking to join Local 560 of the Service Employees International Union, which already represents some other employees at the Ivy League school in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Unionizing would allow the players to negotiate not only over salary but working conditions, including practice hours and travel.
“Because Dartmouth has the right to control the work performed by the Dartmouth men's basketball team, and the players perform that work in exchange for compensation, I find that the petitioned-for basketball players are employees within the meaning of the (National Labor Relations) Act,” NLRB Regional Director Laura Sacks wrote.
The NCAA and universities across the country have been steadfast in insisting their athletes are students, not employees. College sports leaders have even lobbied Congress for a federal law that would codify that classification as the NCAA faces a federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania on the subject.
• Tylor Perry scored eight of his 26 points in overtime and Kansas State beat visiting No. 4 Kansas 7570 on Monday night.
Cam Carter added 19 points and 11 rebounds for Kansas State (158, 5-5 Big 12).
Hunter Dickinson had 21 points and 12 rebounds to pace Kansas (18-5, 6-4).
• Reigning national champion Connecticut, Purdue and North Carolina remained atop The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll for the third consecutive week.
The Huskies earned 45 of 61 first-place votes to remain at No. 1 for the fourth straight week, while the Boilermakers topped the ballots of 16 other voters.
The top of the poll remained set after a big week that included four top-10 matchups over the weekend, with Purdue winning at Wisconsin and UNC beating rival Duke. The week also included Kansas beating Houston, which vaulted the Jayhawks to No. 4 and dropped the Cougars one spot to No. 5.
Tennessee fell one spot to No. 6 after losing at home to now-No. 15 South Carolina but following with a win at Kentucky.
For South Carolina, it marked the program's first appearance in the poll since February 2017.
Marquette, Arizona, Duke and Illinois rounded out the top 10.
Alabama had the week's biggest jump, rising eight spots to No. 16 after rising to the top of the Southeastern Conference standings at 8-1.
• Caitlin Clark and Iowa climbed back to No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25 women's poll as the star guard moved within striking distance of the NCAA career scoring record.
The No. 2 spot hasn't been kind to teams the past month. UCLA, Iowa and Kansas State all took turns in the second position since Jan. 8 and none of the schools could hold that ranking for more than a week at a time.
Meanwhile, South Carolina (210) has maintained a strong grip atop the poll, once again the unanimous No. 1 team from a 35-member national media panel.
The Gamecocks host Missouri and No. 11 UConn this week. but will play those games without star center Kamilla Cardoso, who left for a week to play with the Brazilian national team at an Olympic qualifying tournament.
Clark is only 66 points away from becoming the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women's basketball history. She will lead the Hawkeyes against Penn State and Nebraska this week with Kelsey Plum's record in view.
No. 3 North Carolina State, Colorado and Ohio State followed Iowa. Stanford fell two spots to sixth after losing to USC. Texas vaulted up five places to seventh after beating Baylor and then-No. 2 Kansas State last week. The Wildcats fell to eighth after also losing to Oklahoma.