More than 100 women's college basketball players have signed union authorization cards with a newly formed organization called the United College Athletes Association. The UCAA announced Friday that members of the Oregon State women's basketball team have filed a petition with state regulators seeking collective bargaining rights under state law.
The effort marks a formal legal step in what has been a years-long push by college athletes to gain more control over the conditions of their participation in college sports.
According to ABC News, the announcement follows letters sent in 2024 by a group of women's basketball players to leaders of the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten Conference, requesting a formal collaboration process on issues affecting college athletics. Those requests were denied, and more than 100 female athletes have since signed authorization cards agreeing to UCAA representation.
"As interim president of the UCAA, I'm proud to help lead a movement that gives college athletes a real voice in the decisions that shape our lives and careers," said University of Maryland basketball player Oluchi Okananwa in a statement.
The UCAA says its mission is to represent and protect athletes through collective bargaining and to ensure that college sports are safe, fair, and sustainable, and that athletes have a say in decision-making.
The announcement came just days after the College Football Players Association revealed that Stanford has become the first football team to organize a player-led chapter, another sign that the push to unionize college athletes is gaining traction across multiple sports.
NCAA leaders have long opposed classifying players as employees of their schools. However, the position is not unanimous among college administrators. Tennessee athletic director Danny White has been among those who have said collective bargaining is the only real solution to the problems that confront schools that are now paying millions to their players.
Previous unionization efforts at Dartmouth and the University of Southern California stalled in 2024, attributed in part to the changing landscape in college sports and a Trump administration National Labor Relations Board that was not expected to approve such moves. The Oregon State filing under state law appears designed to work around that federal obstacle.
Sales from the Oregon State petition could determine how quickly the effort moves through regulatory channels. No timeline for a decision by state regulators has been announced.