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Failed union bid won't stop reforms in college athletics

AUG 18, 2015 at 2:28a ET

AUG 18, 2015 at 2:28a ET

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) With or without a union, more rights and benefits are coming for college athletes.

Whether the NCAA schools that compete in big-time athletics can provide enough to keep other more ominous threats to collegiate sports at bay remains to be seen. Even the failed attempt to unionize the Northwestern football could be viewed as progress for those still pushing for reform.

''I certainly don't think this is the end of this type of discussion,'' said David Ridpath, a professor of sports administration at Ohio University and president-elect of the Drake Group, a watchdog group for college sports.