It was a little over a year ago that Matt McCoy was recognized with the prestigious 2017 First Chair Award, a national program that recognizes excellence in legal counsel.
The honor bestowed on the senior associate general counsel for the University of Arkansas surprised no one in Fayetteville, where McCoy has spent the better part of two decades establishing a reputation for legal excellence. McCoy’s achievements have not gone unnoticed by Sports Litigation Alert and Legal Issues in Collegiate Athletics, which sought out McCoy, a graduate of both the Sam M. Walton College of Business and the University of Arkansas School of Law, for an exclusive interview.
Question: How did you get your start in sports law?
Answer: I left the AG’s Office for the University of Arkansas System in 2009. At that time, there were 5 colleges in the UA System with athletic departments (three Division I programs). We did not have dedicated counsel on every campus, so I represented four of the five athletic departments. I drafted agreements, represented them in lawsuits, and provided counsel on everything from student-athlete issues to NCAA compliance matters. In 2015, I was offered a position in Fayetteville at the University of Arkansas and was eventually named Senior Associate General Counsel for Athletics. I currently serve as the lead attorney for athletics matters on campus, but also work closely with all our other attorneys throughout the UA System on athletics matters.
Q: How did working in the AG’s office prepare you for the current role?
A: Being a trial lawyer with the AG’s Office, and in private practice before that, helped me to better appreciate potential consequences of the advice I provide to my clients. You learn what will put your client in the best position to defend themselves if and when they get sued. When I was at the AG’s Office, we didn’t have the luxury of being able to settle cases. So you knew you had to own your advice and be willing to defend it in court. I think most people outside of college athletics assume athletics counsel spend most of their time on compliance issues or coaching contracts since that’s what is most often reported in the news. As you know, those matters command a fair amount of time and can be all-consuming when they arise, but most day-to-day work involves more mundane things like drafting service agreements, releases or policies; providing advice on personnel and student-athlete issues; trademark and licensing enforcement; facilitating public records requests; and providing guidance on facilities and purchasing matters. For public universities, these areas are largely dictated by state and federal laws which often have the same or similar application to other state agencies and institutions represented by the AG’s Office. In fact, many other public universities around the country rely primarily on their state AG’s Office for their legal advice and representation.
Q: Is there a community of similarly situated attorneys within athletic departments beyond just NACUA?
A; I’m most familiar with NACUA, but there are other professional associations like CABMA (College Athletic Business Management Association), NAAC (National Association for Athletics Compliance), NACDA (National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors) and the Sports Lawyer Association that provide educational and networking opportunities helpful to individuals in sports related positions.
Q: How do you decide what can be handled in-house versus sent to outside firms?
A: We handle most legal issues in-house, but generally speaking, we consider outsourcing matters when they are either too time consuming or cost prohibitive to manage internally, there is a conflict in representation, or where greater specialization is preferred.
Q: What outside firms do you regularly use?
A: For athletic matters, we do not maintain a regular relationship with any particular firm, but we have occasionally retained outside counsel for specialized matters like immigration issues, bond matters, tax opinions, compliance investigations, anti-counterfeiting litigation, etc.
Q: Who do you report to at the university?
A: I have an office both in the Administration Building and the Athletic Department because I provide advice and counsel to the Chancellor, Athletic Director and senior athletics officials, but my direct report is to the General Counsel for the UA System.
Q: What are the most pressing legal issues at the intersection of college athletics and the law?
A: This is just one lawyer’s opinion, but the increase in student-athlete litigation across the nation and the growing complexity of athletics contracts are two issues that certainly have my attention. There are class-action lawsuits involving student-athlete publicity rights, compensation, representation, and concussions. Every other day I read about suits filed by (or that involve) student-athletes related to medical treatment, insurance, Title IX and other matters. Add to that the legalization of marijuana and sports betting, criminal prosecutions in basketball, and it looks like sports lawyers will have a full plate for a long time. With regard to contracts, college athletics is a growing billion-dollar industry. Athletic departments today are not only stewards of student-athlete education, health and well-being; but many are also multi-million-dollar enterprises. The value of coaching contracts, lawsuit settlements, licensing rights, television and other multi-media deals are increasing. Social media and technology are evolving faster than the law can keep pace. The need for improved facilities and stakeholder demands continue. Tax laws affecting athletics have changed, but so are the strategies for complying with them. As a result of all this, athletics contracts are becoming vastly more complex, and they have always been pressing.