US college athletes could soon be unionized

A federal agency has decided American football players at Northwestern University can create the first union of college athletes in the United States - a stunning ruling that could revolutionize a college sports industry worth billions of dollars and have dramatic repercussions at schools across the country.

The case has stirred a national debate over the nature of lucrative college sports - especially football, which is followed nearly as avidly as the professional National Football League.

The question is whether student players who help generate millions of dollars in revenue for their universities should be treated as employees.