College student-athletes have the right to unionize according to a recent ruling from the National Labor Relations Board. The ruling, which was handed down in March 2014 by a regional director of the board, could have huge consequences in the contentious world of student athletics.

The case was launched by a group of football players from Northwestern University, who contend they were more employees of the university than students. Kain Colter, a former quarterback for the school, said that if he’d been primarily a student, he would’ve been better able to follow his dream of becoming a doctor. Because of football, he was steered away from the difficult science classes a pre-med degree requires.

The National Labor Relations Board sided with Colter and the other students. The students’ athletic scholarships (deemed “compensation” by the Board) and the hours that big-time sports programs require of its athletes (more than 50 hours a week sometimes) make student-athletes more athletes than students, and thus are closer to university employees.

While the decision didn’t involve the NCAA at all, it comes at a critical time in college athletic history, when many are debating whether student-athletes should be paid a salary or stipend in addition to scholarships. Schools collectively rake in billions of dollars through football and basketball programs. (New York Times)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.