Dartmouth Men’s Basketball Team Votes Overwhelmingly to Unionize

The Big Green made college sports history Tuesday.

A simple election in Hanover, N.H., sent shock waves throughout the college sports world Tuesday.

Dartmouth’s men’s basketball team voted 13-2 to unionize, the Service Employees International Union announced Tuesday morning on social media.

The union is the first of its kind in the history of college athletics, and its founding follows a Feb. 5 ruling by National Labor Relations Board regional director Laura A. Sacks that college athletes should be considered employees of their universities. The ruling and subsequent vote are both expected to set off lengthy legal fights.

“Classifying these students as employees simply because they play basketball is as unprecedented as it is inaccurate,” Dartmouth College said in a statement. “We, therefore, do not believe unionization is appropriate.”

🏀MAKING HISTORY!🏀 Dartmouth Men's Bball team votes to join SEIU L560—our 500-strong union of campus custodians, security officers, museum guides, and others. @Dartmouth, it’s time to bargain a fair contract. NCAA athletes deserve better #UnionsForAll #GoBigGreen #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/TAToB36hwI

— SEIU Local 560 (@SEIU_Local_560) March 5, 2024

The Big Green’s move comes a decade after a 2014 attempt by Northwestern football players to form a union—one that collapsed after the NLRB declined to decide whether players should be considered as employees.

Capping off an eventful day, Dartmouth (5–21, 1–12 Ivy League) is scheduled to play host to Harvard (14–12, 5–8) at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday evening in the regular-season finale for both teams.