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What’s currently happening at the University of Missouri and its football program might be a groundbreaking moment on several levels, with the social ramifications of the stand being taken by the players likely to have far-reaching effects on the collegiate sports environment, too.

This is a news story, but this might turn this into the type of seminal sports moment that’s been building for a long, long while.

The protesting players and students got what they wanted, but beyond that, this could be when college football and basketball players who generate millions upon millions of dollars – and carry their athletic departments and the non-revenue sports – realize the true power they possess to create real change. This is when they could finally figure out the path to get what they want, once they figure out exactly what that is.

Even though the controversy has nothing to do with sports, the sports part of the equation does give the protest and the cause a far bigger voice than it otherwise would’ve received. So here you go, non-unionized college athletes. If you want to be heard, this is your way.

The protest had nothing to do whatsoever with the football program, the athletic department, or the coaching staff. On the contrary, head coach Gary Pinkel handled this as well as possible, noting that this team is a family as he stood behind his players.

Considering the way the Mizzou handled the Michael Sam situation two years ago – fostering an environment where a superstar gay college athlete was not only accepted among his teammates, but was able to come out – and with the support around it, Pinkel was on the right side of the issue then, and now he and his program could be out in front of another major moment.

It takes a certain type of program for college athletes to be able to take a stand like the Missouri players are, just like it took a certain type of student-athlete to try fighting through bureaucracy and hypocrisy of the college sports machine in an attempt to unionize the players, like Kain Colter tried to start up at Northwestern.

Colter and the group behind him tried to go through the step-by-step process needed in an attempt to bring about change and rights for the underrepresented college athlete. Missouri football players might be providing the blueprint on how to actually get it done.

The logistics of unionizing college athletes are nearly impossible to navigate. To do this would require the sacrifice of the potential loss of a scholarship, along with the dream of playing college football. By the time the fight would be over, a player’s eligibility would be up – it’s just not worth the risk. On top of that, to form a cohesive bond requires 18-to-22-year-old kids to have the wherewithal and skills to figure out how to fight a multi-billion dollar industry that can do whatever is necessary for its own interests.

But striking is easy, impactful, and immediate.

Again, fully realizing that the Missouri situation isn’t about football in any way, and turning a very serious and important situation into something sports-related, what would happen if, say, a group of players decided they deserved a piece of the pie and went on strike a week before the Rose Bowl? What if Duke basketball players had formed an alliance the day before the national championship protesting for the ability to have agents, do endorsement deals, or to bring to light some other cause for players’ rights?

The players are starting to figure out the voice they have.

One epic Twitter rant from Simon Cvijanovic turned into the spark that lit the fuse leading to the end of the Tim Beckman coaching era at Illinois – and helped bring to light a slew of other issues within the athletic department.

The Leonard Fournettes and Jadeveon Clowneys of the world are having to answer more and more questions about whether or not risking millions of dollars by playing college football is worth it or not. Meanwhile, top young NBA prospects might start looking harder at the Emmanuel Mudiay path around being forced to play college basketball for a year.

This is the path. Maybe not for football – there are way too many moving parts involved – but at the very least, the threat of the strike got people talking. It brought attention to the issue. That’s the whole point.