If you spent this past Saturday watching college football, you may have noticed certain players touting the letters “APU” on their wristbands.
Those three letters signified the beginning of the All Players United movement, which could grow into a major headache for the National Collegiate Athletic Association over the coming weeks and months.
The campaign, which was organized by the National College Players Association (NCPA), is a student-led push for major NCAA reform. The NCPA helped organize the movement through a series of conference calls with collegiate athletes over the past few months, according to ESPN’s Tom Farrey.
The nascent movement won’t have direct implications for middle and high school student-athletes just yet. But if the campaign succeeds in convincing the NCAA to reform certain policies and procedures, any youths considering continuing their athletic careers past high school should pay heed.
According to the NCPA’s website, the All Players United campaign goals are as follows:
- Show support for the players who joined concussion lawsuits against the NCAA;
- Force the NCAA into using a portion of new television revenues on guaranteed scholarship renewals for permanently injured players; full-cost-of-attendance scholarships for all student-athletes; and the establishment of an “educational lockbox (trust fund)” to help boost graduation rates among athletes;
Support student-athletes involved in the