This isn’t amateur hour

The GIST: On Monday, a NLRB regional director ruled that under U.S. labor law, Dartmouth’s men’s basketball team members are considered the school’s employees, the first nail in the coffin for the NCAA’s beleaguered amateurism model.

How we got here: In September 2023, the 15 Dartmouth teammates filed a petition with the NLRB to unionize, hoping to be reclassified as employees to receive compensation and healthcare benefits (especially considering Ivy League schools don’t offer athletic scholarships). In an op-ed for the student paper, the players referred to the current model as a “brazen exploitation of athlete labor.”

• And the Big Green aren’t alone in challenging the status quo: Several groups are currently pursuing paydays and other worker protections from their institutions.

What it means: As employees, Dartmouth’s men’s hoopers now have entitlements to wages, healthcare benefits, and other employment standards, including the right to unionize. More importantly, nothing prevents every Division I (DI) athlete from pursuing a similar setup.

• In response, Dartmouth argued it can’t afford to pay its athletes and will likely appeal to the NLRB’s national board, which notably blocked Northwestern football players’ 2014 unionization attempt. But that denial was based on a technicality, which may not apply here.

What’s next: If the ruling holds, the precedent would signal the end of the amateurism model as we know it. What does this mean for female athletes? Critics worry that added expenses of athlete wages will sink women’s and nonrevenue sports like gymnastics, soccer, and more.

• But Title IX — which requires schools to provide equal opportunities based on sex — still protects female athletes, so for now, there’s nothing to do but watch this space.

The GIST: Dust off your visor and oil your glove — the NCAA softball season officially starts tomorrow, with 301 DI teams vying for the chance to compete at spring’s premier event, the Women’s College World Series (WCWS).

Teams to know: Surprising absolutely no one, Oklahoma is the preseason No. 1 as they chase their fourth straight (!!!) national title. But the Sooners look a little different this year after losing the reigning WCWS Most Outstanding Player, pitcher Jordy Bahl, to the transfer portal and bringing in an all-star class of freshmen and transfers to fill her cleats.

• If Oklahoma is Regina George, No. 4 Florida State is Gretchen Wieners. The Sooners beat FSU in two of the last three WCWS, but with six of Florida State’s seven top hitters returning, roster stability could give the Seminoles the edge this season.

• Other powerhouses to look out for include No. 2 Tennessee and No. 3 Stanford, but the dark horse? No. 17 Nebraska. The Cornhuskers shocked the world when the aforementioned Bahl joined them in the offseason, single-handedly putting the program on the map in the process.

What to watch: There are tons of tournaments to start the season, but the spiciest matchups go down at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge: Oklahoma takes on No. 9 Duke at 2 p.m. ET, and Nebraska faces No. 10 Washington at 7:30 p.m. ET. Catch both games on FloSoftball, then settle in for a season full of dingers.