Northwestern University, supported by the NCAA and some Republican lawmakers, is pushing to reverse a recent decision by a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board which would allow their student athletes to unionize.

Jake New at Inside Higher Ed has the story.

NCAA, Republican lawmakers back Northwestern’s appeal of football player union

Northwestern University urged the National Labor Relations Board Thursday to reverse a regional director’s decision that classified the university’s football players as university employees, therefore allowing them to unionize.

The university’s argument was backed by several associations, six Republican members of Congress, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association — all of which filed amicus briefs Thursday ahead of the case’s midnight deadline. Inside Higher Ed obtained about a dozen briefs, and other comments were likely submitted to the NLRB as well.

The NCAA, which is currently fighting several battles to halt the professionalization of college sports, said that the decision could have a “significant and irreversible, negative impact on the future of intercollegiate athletics and higher education in the United States.”

“Maintaining the collegiate model of amateurism is crucial to preserving an environment where participation in sports is properly integrated into the total educational experience and plays an appropriate role in relation to the students’ academic development,” the NCAA stated in its brief.