Rick Pitino says faculty basketball wants wage cap

A day after a historic ruling that would change collegiate sports activities by permitting NCAA athletes to unionize, St. John’s coach Rick Pitino mentioned the game wants a wage cap and a brand new hierarchy to thrive.

The Nationwide Labor Relations Board dominated Monday that Dartmouth males’s basketball gamers, who had petitioned to be acknowledged by an area union, are staff of the varsity, a ruling that would permit NCAA athletes to unionize and negotiate work circumstances, amongst different elements of their employment.

Pitino tweeted Tuesday that the main conferences in faculty basketball ought to be a part of forces and create a wage cap of as much as $2 million. He didn’t specify if that quantity would come with title, picture and likeness funds or funding straight from faculties.

“For basketball, have the Energy 5 [and] Huge East convention commissioners get collectively and create a wage cap between [$1.5 and $2 million],” Pitino tweeted. “All contracts delivered to the league and faculty places of work.”

Whereas Pitino did not recommend that the main conferences ought to break up from the opposite faculties, he mentioned the cap ought to be completely different for these leagues.

“All different conferences set up their very own wage cap,” he tweeted. “I’d by no means exclude anybody from the NCAA match. Clearly, soccer is a unique sport completely and a few of their expertise makes greater than NFL gamers. Extra options to comply with within the coming days.”

After the NLRB ruling, Pitino joked that his gamers had requested to “work on their taking pictures,” however he informed them he did not need them to exceed their hours for the week. The NCAA has been adamant that athletes usually are not staff.

Dartmouth can attraction the NLRB’s ruling, however the resolution is one other probably groundbreaking occasion in a stretch that has quickly reshaped collegiate athletics. NCAA president Charlie Baker has referred to as for a “new tier” of school sports activities for the richest faculties, which may then pay their athletes an annual stipend by a belief fund. The Huge Ten and SEC, the 2 richest conferences in faculty sports activities, just lately created a joint committee to debate the way forward for collegiate athletics. And a number of lawsuits in current months have challenged NCAA guidelines on transfers and NIL offers.

“All of us need options to protect our nice recreation,” Pitino tweeted.

Pitino provided “Answer 2” in a tweet later Tuesday. He mentioned the NCAA ought to be “taken out of the equation” in a brand new collegiate panorama, which ought to embody contracts for gamers.

“Put off letters of intent, make athletes signal a [two-year] binding contract, no completely different than skilled athletes — which they’re,” Pitino tweeted. “With that, the [NIL] collective places collectively their NIL contract primarily based on the cap. Clearly, loads has to enter this. I imagine the NCAA ought to be taken out of the equation and the commissioners put into it because the NCAA loses extra circumstances than the protection legal professionals on ‘Legislation & Order.'”