Could union soon represent college players?

The news that the Dartmouth men’s basketball team voted to join a union certainly caught the attention of Tony Clark. He was a baseball and basketball player at San Diego State before playing 15 seasons in the majors and becoming executive director of the MLB Players Association in 2013.

The Big Green players, men and women, had called to get Clark’s advice on the matter.

“We believe that a lot of the challenges that currently exist in the college landscape can be remedied by guys having a formal seat at the table,” Clark told the Globe.

“So that call that we got from the Dartmouth men’s and women’s team at the time, I tip my hat to those guys and gals. The guys moving forward in the fashion that you’ve seen them and being able to come alongside them in whatever fashion that we can has been great.

“We’re hopeful that there are additional conversations that are had beyond the Dartmouth men’s basketball team.”

Now that the MLBPA represents minor league players, the next logical step could be to do the same for college baseball players. Given the large number of former collegiate players in its ranks, the MLBPA is uniquely positioned to render assistance.

That could come from the union being a member of the AFL-CIO’s Sports Council along with the NFL Players Association, the NWSL Players Association, and some smaller unions. But not necessarily.

“There’s an opportunity as we continue to discuss among that council and separately for all of us to engage in a way that’s a little bit different than happened at this point,” Clark said. “Obviously our expertise would be in baseball.”

The MLBPA could aid college baseball players in a number of ways: improving facilities, finding more routes to NIL income, mentorship programs, and representing the players in any disputes with their schools or the NCAA.

The Dartmouth basketball players voted to join a local union that represents service employees at the college. The regional director of the National Labor Relations Board had previously ruled the players were employees of the school, something that may not be applicable to public schools.

It’s also uncertain to what degree other teams or athletes from other sports will follow Dartmouth’s lead. But it has been clear for several years that college athletics is changing dramatically.

As to major league issues, Clark has spent much of the last month dealing with problems the players have had with the look and comfort of the new uniforms designed by Nike and manufactured by Fanatics.

The clamor has died down, with the league vowing to get the fit right, particularly for the pants.

“We’re working through that,” Clark said. “I admit that I didn’t think it was going to be a topic of discussion and it has been maintained as a topic of discussion. I reiterate that I’m hopeful that by the time we get to Opening Day, it’s less of a topic of discussion.”

Within the Red Sox clubhouse, fit has been less of a problem than the idea that the new uniforms don’t look as stylish and well-designed as you’d expect for the major leagues.

The other big issue that has come up — MLB’s seemingly endless free agency — doesn’t seem to have an answer.

As the weekend approached, Mike Clevinger, Adam Duvall, Michael Lorenzen, J.D. Martinez, Jordan Montgomery, Tommy Pham, and Blake Snell were among the players who are still free agents.

Is there any way the league and the union could come together to tighten up a process that has become aggravating to all concerned?

Commissioner Rob Manfred has suggested a deadline be put in place in conjunction with the Winter Meetings.

That would create content for the league and its media partners. But the players don’t see that as their problem.

“The conversation around a [signing] deadline, we don’t believe there’s value in that,” said Clark, who also pointed out that teams had the freedom to sign players a few days after the World Series and there was little action.

Meanwhile, the league has rejected the idea of rewarding teams who sign players early in the process.

It’s a stalemate and nobody benefits, fans included. The topic will likely come up when the next collective bargaining agreement is negotiated after the 2026 season.

“That tango could be held at some point,” Clark said. “We’ll have a formal tango in a few years.”