Athletes as Employees

 

written by STEVE ULRICH your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III   Donate to D3Playbook Won't you please consider making a gift to D3Playbook. Your gift will help us offset the costs of operating the newsletter and enable us to continue to provide the quality you have come to expect. My heartfelt thanks to those who have already contributed. Join them today.   >> It's Friday! A shout-out to our new friends from Muskingum. Imagine my surprise to see all the new subscriptions! Thank you and I hope you enjoy. >> Today's Word Count: 1.224 >> Does your department have a position opening?  Advertise with D3Playbook for as little as $15. We are also looking for a sponsor for "Comings and Goings." Contact us today. >> Thanks for reading D3Playbook. Would you be so kind as to send this to a friend and ask them to sign up for their own subscription?   I'd like D3Playbook in my inbox, please TOP STORY 1. Athletes as Employees by Michael McCann, Yahoo!Sports "While their litigation remains a long way from victory, six current and former athletes from a handful of colleges—Villanova, Fordham, Sacred Heart, Cornell and Lafayette—received encouraging news Wednesday from Pennsylvania federal judge John Padova, who denied those schools’ motion to dismiss Ralph “Trey” Johnson et al. v. NCAA. The case centers on the claim that college athletes are employees under both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state labor laws and are owed minimum wage. A motion to dismiss raised by fellow defendants NCAA and others has not yet been decided. Johnson v. NCAA draws on a different federal law than the one cited by Kain Colter and other Northwestern football players in their effort seven years ago to be declared employees. The players in Johnson invoke the FLSA, which governs minimum wage and overtime pay, whereas Kolter’s petition to the National Labor Relations Board relied on the National Labor Relations Act, which protects the right of employees to unionize. The Johnson v. NCAA players—three women and three men—have petitioned Judge Padova to certify their case as a class action. The judge’s denial of the motion to dismiss will likely enable the players’ attorneys to gain access to emails and sworn testimony from school officials." >> Point: "Judge Padova detailed how college athletes “must schedule classes around their required NCAA athletic activities” and that many “have reported that participation in NCAA [Division I] sports have prevented them from taking classes that they wanted to take.” Likewise, he noted that athletic programs and coaches, much like employers and bosses, “exercise significant control over their student athletes” regarding how they spend their time and potential disciplinary matters." >> Counterpoint: "The schools assert that players are enrolled as students, not employees. They also cite precedent from other cases where similar lawsuits were rejected. They draw attention to Berger v. NCAA, a 2016 case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in which the court reasoned that college athletes are amateurs and thus can’t be employees." >> Be Smart: "For now, the law is one step closer to recognizing college athletes as employees." >> Keep Reading   CONFERENCES 2. Empire 8 Grows to 10 The Empire 8 Conference is pleased to announce the addition of Medaille College effective with the 2022-23 academic year. Medaille currently sponsors 19 Division III sports, with 17 set to compete in the Empire 8. With the addition of Medaille, the E8 will be comprised of 10 members all located in New York State. The conference currently sponsors 23 NCAA Division III sports. >> What They're Saying: “Medaille College is a natural fit for the Empire 8,” said Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano. “They are a competitive academic institution with great leadership at all levels and outstanding facilities that fits into our geographic footprint. Moreover, like Empire 8, Medaille is committed to the critical educational role that intercollegiate athletics plays in higher education as we shape tomorrow’s leaders.” >> What's Next: “The Empire 8 has an outstanding record of being one of the top Division III conferences with their success of student-athletes in the classroom and on the playing fields. We look forward to building new relationships and rivalries within the conference.” - Medaille College Director of Athletics Susan Roarke >> Go Deeper A MESSAGE FROM ALTERNATIVE ASSETS WTF is an NFT? Alternative Assets demystifies and explains the hottest unique investment ideas out there. Collectibles, NFTs, Wine, Websites, even LEGOs. They don't just track the markets, they smash the markets. Subscribe to Alternative Assets today. FINANCIAL AID 3.  Competing With Flagships   by Michael T. Neitzel, Forbes "Cornell College, a small private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa, announced on Tuesday that it will provide an annual $30,000 scholarship to students from five surrounding states. Dubbed the “Freeway Scholarship,” it will be available to first-year students from the neighboring states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, and Nebraska who apply for admission for the 2022-23 school year.  The scholarship is renewable for four years for students from the five Midwest states, plus Kansas City, Kansas. One of the basic ideas behind it was to lower the cost of attendance at Cornell to a price that was comparable to the flagship public universities in those states. With this aid, Cornell claims it will be within $3,250 of the average of those five colleges. Small colleges, which are generally heavily dependent on tuition to fund their ongoing operations, have experimented with a number of pricing strategies to attract new students and maintain enrollment. The most frequent approach is what’s called “tuition discounting,” usually through institutional aid that is delivered in the form of so-called merit scholarships." >> Quotable: “We researched five different flagship state institutions in our neighboring states, and we know that with this scholarship we are within reach of the same price of their attendance, and at Cornell students get a high-quality private education,” said Vice President for Enrollment Management Wendy Beckemeyer. (Cornell’s published tuition for this year is $47,100.)" >> Of Note: "Cornell may have hit something of a sweet spot with its targeted approach. It’s not making a wholesale tuition reset. And, according to Beckemeyer, the school’s overall discount rate was unchanged as a result of this year’s Iowa Promise Scholarship." >> Continue Reading A MESSAGE FROM MORNING BREW   There's a reason over 2.6 million people start their day with Morning Brew — the daily email that delivers the latest news from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Business news doesn't have to be dry and dense...make your mornings more enjoyable, for free. Check it out today.  FOOTBALL 4.  Winningest Teams   The 2021 Division III football season gets underway next weekend. Here is a list of the winningest programs courtesy of the NCAA. Mount Union, 813-388-38 Wittenberg, 780-363-31 Washington & Jefferson, 755-396-40 Widener, 710-432-39 Wabash, 696-392-59 Williams, 656-387-47 Saint John's, 653-251-24 Amherst, 651-420-54 Franklin & Marshall, 642-499-47 Central, 633-330-26   Albion, 632-419-43 Westminster, Pa., 632-440-54 Centre, 625-425-37 Coe, 619-406-37 Linfield, 617-261-30 Wisconsin-Whitewater, 615-260-21 Ohio Wesleyan, 603-523-44 Baldwin Wallace, 601-355-30 >> Knocking on 600's Door: Trinity (Conn.) 598, DePauw 593, Illinois Wesleyan 589 >> Strive for Five-Hundred: Franklin 499, Hanover 499, Simpson 497, Grove City 496, Heidelberg 495, Maryville 494, Howard Payne 493,    TRANSACTIONS 5.  Comings and Goings   BROCKPORT - Kate Isaksen named assistant volleyball coach HOLLINS - Chris Kilcoyne named director of athletic communications JOHN JAY - Eric Schrick named interim head cross country coach NICHOLS - Zach Nussbaum named assistant cross country/track and field coach PRINCIPIA - Rich Eisenhauer named head volleyball coach. Nick Barron named head cross country coach. Ward Patterson named head rugby coach. Ryan Duffy named strength and conditioning coach REDLANDS - Jake De Vries named assistant tennis coach RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE - Bill Volpe named head golf coach SALVE REGINA - Shauna Mulkerin named head softball coach SEWANEE - Madi Belvito named assistant women's soccer coach. Will Jordan named assistant soccer coach TUFTS - John Casey announced his retirement as associate athletic director and head baseball coach VASSAR - Michael Romano named assistant men's basketball coach WELLS - Ryan Laing named head men's volleyball coach WESTERN NEW ENGLAND - Added women's wrestling as a varsity sport beginning in 2022-23 WISCONSIN-SUPERIOR - Christine Bjornstal named digital marketing and creative content specialist 1 THING 6. Don't Say This at a Job Interview Photo: Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images "Motivated," "innovative" and "trustworthy" are three overused buzzwords that make hiring managers' eyes glaze over, according to a survey of 1,000 of them by the H.R. software maker Zenefits, Jennifer A. Kingson writes. Why it matters: A lot of people are looking for jobs — or to change jobs — and many of us (ahem) have rusty interview skills. Details: Zenefits found that "the most common mistakes during video interviews include criticizing previous employers, consuming takeaway coffees and not explaining employment gaps." 10% of hiring managers "reported their candidate did not show up on time to their Zoom interview or had trouble with the technology."  Thanks for starting your day with us. Have a safe and enjoyable weekend. What did you think of today's newsletter? Please invite your friends to sign up for D3Playbook

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