UAB football team becomes first in NCAA Division I to sign with college athlete organization

UAB became the first Division I football team to join a fledgling organization that hopes to represent athletes as college sports moves to a more professional model.

After a meeting arranged by coach Trent Dilfer, athletes.org announced Monday its co-founders met recently with UAB’s players and staff and laid out a vision of a not-so-distant future of college sports, which includes athletes collectively bargaining with schools, conferences or possibly the NCAA to determine how revenue is shared and other polices.

Athletes.org is not a union — yet — and one of several organizations trying to organize athletes. Jim Cavale, one of the founders, said the group has signed up more than 2,900 college athletes from all sports over the last eight months, mostly one by one.

“It’s a lot easier if you can get in front of team and at least have the opportunity to earn their trust and see if they want to sign up. Give them a the choice, as a team,” Cavale told AP in a phone interview.