A diverse panel of high-profile business and legal experts from across the sports world will be speaking at a Nov. 30 conference presented by the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
Hosted by ASU Law’s Sports Law and Business Program, the conference will take place from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Beus Center for Law and Society in downtown Phoenix, in the W. P. Carey Foundation Armstrong Great Hall. It will feature three panel discussions:
Business and Legal Issues in College Sports
Business and Legal Issues in Professional Sports
Globalization of Sport: International Interest in American Sports
Sports Law and Business Director Glenn Wong said the conference aligns with the program’s broad focus.
“Since our students come from a variety of educational backgrounds and are interested in a wide range of sports career paths, we aim to provide them with the expertise and experience of a diverse group of industry-leading practitioners,” he said. “Our hope is that no student’s individual interests go underserved or unmentored as we develop them into the next generation of leaders.”
The conference panelists will be:
Kevin Blue, director of athletics for the University of California, Davis
Mike Gallagher, co-founding partner of Phoenix law firm Gallagher & Kennedy
Robin Harris, executive director of the Ivy League
John Martin, managing director for NASCAR Digital
Bernadette McGlade, commissioner of the Atlantic 10 Conference
Lou Melendez, a consultant to the Major League Baseball Players Association
David Palanzo, senior vice president, legal and business affairs, for the Women’s Tennis Association
Jeff Price, chief commercial officer for PGA of America
Debbie Spander, senior vice president for broadcasting and coaching at Wasserman, a sports marketing and talent-management company
Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency
As ASU Law lecturer Stephanie Jarvis says, the Sports Law and Business Program is designed to broaden students’ horizons and introduce them to a variety of careers from a multitude of amateur and professional sports.
Wong added that the gathering of such a distinguished panel is the result of years of relationship-building and the willingness of so many experts in the sports industry to share their knowledge.
“The sports industry as a whole is fortunate to have practitioners, who are not only exceedingly well-accomplished, but also have a passion for students and helping prepare them for positive contributions to the industry,” Wong said. “Through our contacts and working relationships built across many, many years, we have invited these individuals to sit in conversation with one another and our students. We are very fortunate that the panelists we’ve gathered have offered to support the SLB program by sharing their time and knowledge with us.”
Admission is free for law students, and $15 for members of the general public. For lawyers seeking CLE credit, the individual rate is $100, and the group rate (three or more people) is $75 per person. Visit https://asulawcle.com/slb for more information.
