Dartmouth Hoops Union Could Touch Off Legal Madness

Irwin Kishner, co-chair of Herrick's Sports Law Group, spoke to Law360 about the recent vote by the Dartmouth College men's basketball team to form a union and how this decision will continue to shape the rights of collegiate athletes. 

"The driving force here is student athletes trying to monetize their services to a greater extent than what is happening today," said Kishner. "Particularly with Dartmouth, which has a lot of programs, the question is going to be: If this starts becoming a national trend, are universities going to fund as many sports programs?" Kishner further noted that spiraling labor costs could lead athletic departments with smaller budgets to field clubs rather than varsity teams. 

"There is a lot of land to hoe between now and where this thing ultimately could go," Kisher said. "There will be effects of this that we are not even thinking of now." 

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