USC Football: Trojans' In-Season Practice Regime Unveiled In Amateurism Hearing

In February 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint against USC, the Pac-12, and the NCAA alleging that all three bodies were violating federal labor law by restricting athletes’ social media activity.

Currently, NCAA student-athletes are not considered employees, but the NLRB is trying to change that. This legal battle is currently being fought in a small hearing room in the NLRB's Los Angeles office, pitting USC football assistant athletic director Joseph Wood up against a seemingly inevitable force, according to Luca Evans of The Orange County Register.

With NIL exploding, and college (and even some high school athletes) now able to profit off their Name, Image, and Likeness, it feels like merely a matter of time before the NCAA is forced from their historical 'our student-athletes are amateur athletes' position.

One interesting tidbit from these hearings is the level of detail with which Joseph Wood describes USC's in-season football practice schedule. Evans tweeted out the details, adding context around Lincoln Riley's desire (in 2022) to hold morning practices.

Update in the NLRB’s case v. USC/Pac-12/NCAA arguing student-athletes should be deemed employees: USC has called Joseph Wood, assistant AD for football, to testify.

Wood said in 2022, Lincoln Riley had a desire to practice in the mornings, but academic advisors pushed back (1)
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) February 1, 2024

Evans continued the thread, reporting Joseph Wood's description of USC's practice schedule as follows:

Wood laid out the in-szn schedule for #USC football:

Monday: lift mornings, film afternoons, hour-and-half practice

Tuesday: 2-hr long practice in helmets + pads, similar Wed + Thurs

Friday: hour-long practice/walkthrough, stay at USC Hotel for home games, travel for away
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) February 1, 2024

Supporting the "amateurism" theory by breaking down the athletic workload for a high-caliber division-one football program like USC seems counterproductive, as a former college athlete myself. But, it does give Trojan fans a peek inside the day-to-day life of their favorite players/team.

According to Evans, the NLRB's current stance on Dartmouth men's basketball players is that they are employees. So, what does mean for USC?

It suggests that USC could be on the brink of having to deal with a possible unionization effort coordinated by their own student-athletes that would give the student-athletes collective bargaining power and the ability to negotiate with the University compensation, just like any USC employee.

Crazy times for college sports, but thanks to the great reporting by the OC Register, Trojan fans can stay up-to-date with it all.