Now here’s a surprise. As of early 2016, neither Michigan State University nor University of Michigan offered an accredited sports management program—the operative word here being “accredited.” The only two schools that did have an accredited program were Central Michigan University (CMU) and Davenport University. Obviously, accreditation is a big deal. It’s a long process.…
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A sports law professor and attorney with Sparks Willson Borges Brandt & Johnson, PC (Colorado Springs, CO), Bill specializes in the representation of sports entities, athletes and coaches in contract negotiations, corporate governance, compliance, grievances, and eligibility issues. What were the circumstances that caused you to gravitate to sports law? I have always been interested…
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The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Council of Presidents has hired Gregg E. Clifton to represent the MAAC as its legal counsel. In his new position, Clifton will be responsible for handling all MAAC legal matters, advising the Council on governance and NCAA issues, and providing the league with guidance on contractual and related business…
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Last year, Syracuse hired ESPN’s John Wildhack, the network’s Executive Vice President for Production and Programming, to manage its athletic department. Having no experience in athletic administration, one might think this to be a gamble. On the other hand, college athletics have certainly become a business, so why not get yourself a successful businessman with…
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If ever there was an NFL franchise with a storied and steamy history, it’s Oakland. Al Davis took black and silver and a bad-boy image to a new level. And since the Raiders are moving, what better place than to Las Vegas—sin city. The move leaves Oakland fans in a state of betrayal and those…
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(Editor’s Note: John Miller, Troy University, and Robin Ammon, University of South Dakota, recently wrote the following article for Concussion Litigation Reporter. It is exclusively reprinted here.) Many interscholastic athletes, particularly high school football players, are likely to incur concussions while participating in a sport (McCrea, Hammeke, Olsen, Leo, & Guskiewicz, 2004). Copeland (2010) further…
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First, it was called distance learning—correspondence courses being the medium. With the growth of the digital age, it became online studies. More recently, another name has stuck – the MOOC (massive open online course). To date these MOOCs have mushroomed in popularity. Take Case Western University in Cleveland, it currently offers some 10 MOOCs, among…
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The vast majority of all organized sports, girls or boys, are conduits for teaching teamwork, discipline, goal setting, and responsibility. They start, as examples, at the T-ball and Peewee football levels and continue through middle school, high school, and college. The benefits of character-building cannot be over-emphasized. Many an athlete will testify to sports essentially…
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Members of the National Trial Lawyers Group have singled out attorney Mark Lanier as its Trial Lawyer of the Year, while recognizing the Lanier Law Firm among the Top 25 most influential litigation firms in the United States. Lanier accepted both awards at The National Trial Lawyers’ February 2017 Trial Lawyers Summit in South Beach,…
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Pepperdine University School of Law Professor Maureen Weston has seen first-hand what a great sports law program looks like. After all, she is a long-time representative on the Board of Advisors at the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University, one of the nation’s premier programs. So when all the right pieces fell into place,…
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