Members of the Oregon State women’s basketball team submitted a petition for union representation to the Oregon Employment Relations Board on Friday, according to an announcement by the United College Athletes Association. This action represents the first formal unionization effort undertaken within women’s college sports.
The UCAA has collected authorization cards from more than 100 women’s college basketball players over a six-month period, granting the organization rights to bargain collectively on their behalf. The organizing initiative traces its origins to 2024, when over 100 women’s college basketball players sent correspondence to leadership at the Big Ten and SEC conferences requesting an official mechanism for coordinated action on matters impacting student-athletes. After the conferences declined their request, the players proceeded independently with organizing efforts that evolved into the current UCAA structure. Of the 13 Oregon State women’s basketball players, 10 have signed union authorization cards, including senior guard Jenna Villa, who serves on the UCAA’s interim executive committee.
The organization identified Oregon as a strategic location to begin negotiations due to the state’s favorable labor laws, though collective bargaining regulations for public employees differ across jurisdictions and present obstacles in certain states. A central complication involves the NCAA’s official position rejecting employee classification for student-athletes. The UCAA’s interim president, Maryland guard Oluchi Okananwa, disputes this characterization, asserting that college athletes function as professional workers deserving contractual protections, fair compensation, and participation in decisions affecting their careers and lives.
The UCAA draws membership from nine different Division I programs and has assembled an advisory board featuring individuals with relevant expertise, including Los Angeles Sparks forward and WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike. The organization maintains legal representation through the O’Donoghue & O’Donoghue law firm based in Washington, D.C. Long-term objectives include expanding representation across NCAA sports at multiple institutions and establishing separate bargaining divisions for individual sports.
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