On Friday, members of the Oregon women’s basketball team filed a petition for union representation with the Oregon Employment Relations Board, marking the latest unionization effort in college sports—and the first based solely on public sector state labor laws.
The effort was led by the United College Athletes Association, a 501(c)(5) labor union founded by former NCAA track athlete Andrew Cooper,which has been working to organize women’s basketball specifically since 2024. While this is the first formal move toward unionization, the UCAA says it has more than 100 women’s basketball players who have signed “unionization authorization cards.”
The UCAA’s advisory board includes current and former members of professional sports unions, including NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke and WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike, as well as former National Labor Relations Board executives.
“We deserve a seat at the table, meaningful protections, fair compensation, and a collective bargaining agreement that raises the standard for everyone,” Maryland women’s basketball player Oluchi Okananwa, the interim president of the UCAA, said in a statement. “This work is bigger than any one season or generation. We are building lasting power for the athletes competing today and those who will come after us.”
