Amid the wave of conference realignment that rocked college sports earlier this month, a thought crossed Jim Cavale’s mind: “What do the athletes think?”

Despite a few softball players from Washington and Oregon publicly criticizing their school’s move to the Big Ten, few athlete voices were heard.

In this era of college athlete rights, Cavale says there exists a missing piece: a central hub for athletes to communicate, collaborate and even vote on important issues.

That may be about to change.

Cavale, a power player in college sports who founded the NIL marketplace INFLCR, is partnering with recently retired NFL pro Brandon Copeland in creating Athletes.org, a free membership organization open to all college athletes. Athletes.org, abbreviated as AO, is structured in a similar way to a players association. Members are able to join chapters within the organization based on the sport and conference in which they participate.