Unionization of College Athletes; Celebrating the Mighty Macs

Guests: Karen Weaver, Amy Privette Perko, & Denise Conway Crawford

In March, an official from a regional National Labor Relations Board ruled that football players at Northwestern University are allowed to collectively bargain and unionize. In effect, this ruling says that the athletes on scholarship should be classified as employees. Schools and administrators across the country have reacted to this decision and it raises a host of questions for universities, athletes, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In this hour of Radio Times, we’ll discuss the issues of unionization and the role of the student athlete with KAREN WEAVER, an Associate Clinical Professor of Sports Management at Drexel University, and AMY PRIVETTE PERKO, the Executive Director of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. Then, we’ll hear from DENISE CONWAY CRAWFORD, a member of the Immaculata University women’s 1972-74 basketball teams. The women’s basketball program was named to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday.