Registration Is Open for Student Teams for the 4th Annual National College Athletics Infractions Hearing Competition

Dan Matheson, JD, Professor of Instruction at the University of Iowa, has announced that registration is now open for student teams in the fourth annual National College Athletics Infractions Hearing Competition.

All details and registration link are at our updated website: https://law.uiowa.edu/experiential-learning/courtroom-advocacy/college-athletics-infractions-hearing-competition

The competition simulates the NCAA Committee on Infractions hearing process and supports professional development and enhancement of oral and written advocacy skills while providing students the chance to learn from and network with experts in sports law and college athletics administration serving as judges. (See the drop-down menu at the website for a list of judges from the first three years of competition, many of whom will return.)

The Basics

• The competition is open to law students and graduate students in non-law programs (e.g. Sport Management).
• All competitors and coaches receive competition T-shirts.
• Trophies are awarded for champion, runner-up and semifinalist teams in the mock hearings, and 1^st through 3^rd place teams in the writing competition.
• All competition takes place online (NO TRAVEL).
• An educational and networking function with our judges will be held on Zoom at the end of Day 1 of competition. Iowa Director of Athletics Beth Goetz has kicked off the networking function each of the past two years as a guest.
• Students can submit resumes to a dropbox that will be shared with the judges.
• During January, each team will write one response to a mock NCAA Notice of Allegations. Each team will compete in two mock NCAA infractions hearings on Feb. 20, 2026. Semifinals and final hearing will be on Feb. 21.
• No limit on the number of teams that any one school can enter.
• Teams are welcome to have one or more coaches, but a coach is not required for success in the competition. Several forms of assistance are provided. There will be a 30-minute orientation meeting on Zoom for all competitors in late December/early January to provide guidance and answer questions (a recording will be uploaded to the competition portal), there is a written competition guide in the competition portal, and Professor Matheson at the University of Iowa is available to competitors throughout their preparations to answer questions.

Below are just two of many comments received from team coaches in past competitions:

“Thank you for a great competition.  It was very well run, and I loved the networking event.  The judges were great and very professional.  Both of my teams thoroughly enjoyed the experience and learned a lot.  We will definitely be back!  I really enjoyed the process.”

“I just wanted to let you know how impressed I am with the organization and opportunities provided with this competition. Of course, I was excited to see our students win the competition, but, regardless of any trophy, the experience they were afforded is incredibly special. Excellent work! And we hope to send another team again next year!”

Professor Matheson went on to thank his co-sponsors, “who help make this competition a success and support students by keeping our registration fees the lowest in the country for the number of trophies and T-shirts awarded:

• Husch Blackwell
• Journal of NCAA Compliance 

“We’re excited to host another year of experiential learning through friendly competition,” he said. “Please let us know if there are any questions, and please share with others.”