A couple of interesting notes . . .
The Associated Press story under the headline Dartmouth men’s basketball team votes to unionize, though steps remain before forming labor union includes this (LINK):
“Today is a big day for our team,” said Dartmouth juniors Cade Haskins and Romeo Myrthil, who have led the effort. “We stuck together all season and won this election. It is self-evident that we, as students, can also be both campus workers and union members. Dartmouth seems to be stuck in the past. It’s time for the age of amateurism to end.”
Ross Dellenger, with stints at Yahool in Sports Illustrated on his resumé, Xweets these thoughts (LINK):
In its appeal request to the NLRB national board, Dartmouth skewers the regional director’s decision to allow a union election, calling it “unprecedented and unwarranted” and accusing her of exceeding her authority by creating a new definition of “employee.”
As you'd expect, Dartmouth uses finances in its appeal, spelling out that the men's basketball team loses "hundreds of thousands of dollars" each year.
And . . .
In its appeal, Dartmouth contends that international athletes will not be able to compete in college sports if the employment ruling is upheld, citing federal visa laws related to hourly “work” limitations. At least 20% of the Dartmouth team is made up of international athletes.
Green Alert Take: For me, it's pretty simple. There are the big schools where athletes are employees in everything but name. And there are schools that offer an extra curricular activity allowing students to play games (emphasis on the words play and games). Maybe it's time the Ivy League decides which it is going to be.
Green Alert Take II: If you think it sounds like I'm tired of it all, you are right. This might not be a popular opinion but if I'm the college sports commish, I break everything down into two divisions. We'll call one the "pro" division and we'll call one the "amateur" division. The pro division can play for NIL and paychecks, union benefits and the rest. Good for them. The amateur division? It will play for fun, period full stop.
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On the Analyst site, Craig Haley has a column headlined ‘Spring’ Forward: Six Burning Questions For the 2024 FCS Season Ahead that after the intro begins with this subhead: What’s Changing in the 2024 FCS Season? The section begins this way (LINK):
Including Dartmouth’s Sammy McCorkle being elevated from interim status, 29 FCS programs have had a head coaching change since the start of the 2023 season, one fewer than the record 30 of the 2014 cycle (according to the NCAA Record Book).
That's it. No other mention of McCorkle or Dartmouth in the piece although it did featured this graphic:
Just popped back into the house after helping a fellow from the local power equipment repair shop load our electric tractor onto his trailer to haul back to the shop. While he was here I pointed him toward the "whole house" generator sitting forlornly in the back of the garage. It hasn't worked since we bought this place. No one would come here to look at it because it's too small a job. Now that's on the trailer as well.
