State of Play: Football Players and the NCAA

Fault Lines investigates the multi-billion-dollar industry of college football, the players who produce that wealth, and their demands for a more equitable game.

Business has been good for the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, the nonprofit organization that sets the rules for college sports. In less than two decades, the NCAA's assets have skyrocketed, growing by nearly 1,000 percent. The athletes who star on the field, however, don’t receive long-term health care, are prevented from collecting a paycheck, and have no seat at the bargaining table.

Now football players are challenging the status quo on multiple fronts. In April, the team at Northwestern University rocked the sports world by voting on whether to form the first union in college football history. Former Clemson University standout Darius Robinson joined a class-action lawsuit to overturn NCAA rules that prevent athletes from sharing in the revenue they produce. And Adrian Arrington, a former captain at Eastern Illinois University, is the lead plaintiff in a landmark concussion suit against the NCAA.

Fault Lines examines the state of play inside college sports, and a string of cases that could bring fundamental change to the NCAA.