A group of Northwestern University football players submitted a petition to unionize last year and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently ruled that these athletes could not form a union. This decision declines to assert jurisdiction and dismisses the petition to unionize. Northwestern had been fighting this from the beginning and had the idea that their players would become designated as employees. If the labor board had ruled in favor of the players, it would have paved the way for athletes at colleges and universities everywhere to likely engage in collective bargaining with their schools.

This ruling was important to schools across the nation and keeps them from having to deal with the many demands that would have gone along with student-athletes being labeled as employees.

Big South Conference Commissioner Kyle B. Kallander has issued the following statement on the National Labor Relations Board’s decision:

“Obviously the Big South Conference supports the NLRB’s ruling regarding the student-athlete unionization efforts at Northwestern University. It is important to remember we are talking about students, not employees. Regardless of the ruling, preparing students to be successful in life is paramount for the Big South membership. Our goal is, and always will be, Developing Leaders through Athletics.”

This decision is also considered a big win for the NCAA as it puts the unionization movement on hold. The decision was only related to private universities, as public university players would have to petition their state labor boards for a similar decision.