What follows is an exclusive report from the insights on more than a dozen professionals on what it takes to becoming an adjunct sports law professor.
Paul Anderson, Marquette University
Question: What was your first adjunct position teaching sports law and how did it come about?
Answer: First adjunct role was teaching an amateur sports law course at Marquette University Law School. This came about as there was no one else to teach it, and I had recently stepped in in a low-level administrative role with the National Sports Law Institute, back in 1995, before we had a Sports Law Program
Q: What has been the secret to your success as an adjunct?
A: No longer an adjunct, but it depends on how you define success. I guess, 1) keeping the students in mind first, as they have changed a lot and learn and are interested in different things than they used to be, and 2) always updating every class as so many changes in our field, so even a class I have taught for 30 years is different every time.
Q: What tools do you use (text and other materials) when teaching sports law?
A: I gather my own content and put it a TWEN course page, I rely a lot on the Sports Law Research website I created – https://law.marquette.edu/national-sports-law-institute/sports-law-research-website, and original sources, not secondary sources.
Q: What would you recommend to someone who wants to become an adjunct?
A: Over prepare and bring things down to the level of your students and their interest. Also, only teach something you actually know and by that, I mean actually know outside of just reading about it online or in a book.
Tony Giacobbe, NYU
Question: What was your first adjunct position teaching sports law and how did it come about?
Answer: I began teaching in NYU’s sports management program about 20 years ago. Bob Boland, who knew I enjoyed teaching, brought me in. Bob asked me to cover his class one week when he was away and the next week when he returned the students told him about my class and Bob called me and told me I should join the program.
Q: What has been the secret to your success as an adjunct?
A: I’ve learned a lot over the 20 years. Give practical lessons. Be understanding of student situations. Make class interesting and discussion oriented.
Q: What tools do you use (text and other materials) when teaching sports law?
A: I just started using the Gopelrud book this semester, and it was well received. I post cases each week and review them in class using a soft Socratic style but without the angst.
Q: What would you recommend to someone who wants to become an adjunct?
A: I recommend have a solid syllabus with good materials. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Ask questions but also, listen. Get to know your students. I’ve received excellent reviews and I’m proud of them, I’m proud of my students and follow their careers if they choose to stay in touch. It’s a privilege and an honor to help influence their lives and their careers.
Bruce B. Siegal, Esq. (of Greenspoon Marder LLP), Georgia Tech
Question: What was your first adjunct position teaching sports law and how did it come about?
Answer: My first (and only to date) adjunct position is at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), where I teach Sports Law and Public Policy. I was recruited by Professor Mary McDonald, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and Director: Sports, Society, and Technology Program. This came by way of a recommendation from an attorney in Atlanta who at the time was working at Georgia State University.
Q: What has been the secret to your success as an adjunct?
A: Significant preparation; organization of a class plan for the semester; practice; engaging students to participate; and amazing guest speakers.
Q: What tools do you use (text and other materials) when teaching sports law?
A: When I agreed to teach the class, I began researching to find an appropriate textbook. I called Matt Mitten, whom I have known for years, and asked his recommendation. That was easy. He recommended his book – Sports Law Governance and Regulation (now in its Fourth Edition); Matthew J. Mitten, Timothy Davis, Barbara Osborne, N. Jeremi Duru.
I use the text, which covers sports law from soup to nuts, plus accompanying materials. Such materials included slides for each chapter, which I took as a great source, and made them my own. I also do frequent participation exercises, and bring in guest speakers, including attorneys from the Atlanta sports teams, Georgia Tech, sports agents, and others. I engage with the guest speakers in a very engaging and interactive manner with the students.
Q: What would you recommend to someone who wants to become an adjunct?
A: Create a vison for what you want to accomplish with your students; work tirelessly to prepare for the entire semester; create a comprehensive syllabus and rubrics (if you require written papers); talk to other professors; take advantage of university teacher learning programs; attend some classes as an observer; network on campus; throughout the semester, ask for student feedback. My initial approach was to be every clear that I was just starting as a professor, so let’s learn together.
Andrew Bondarowicz, Rutgers
Question: How did you get your start?
Answer: I was an NFLPA certified agent and solo lawyer before I started as an Adjunct Professor teaching Sports Law at Rutgers Law School. At the time, the school did not have any sports-related classes and there was a great deal of student interest. The Dean had sought me out as an alum, not quite knowing what “sports law” had entailed but thought that I would have a pretty good idea of what it was. They brought me on as an adjunct in 2012 and have been teaching the course there since then as well as the Rutgers Global Sports Business M.S. program in New Brunswick.
Q: What has been the secret to your success?
A: The students love to have the “real world” experience and stories in class. So much of law school is theory-based and foundational, so it is often hard for them to relate some of the legal theories to how they manifest in real world situations. In sports, it’s much easier to see the cumulative impact and “chains of events” to understand how the law impacts the industry. For example, to understand baseball, you start with how the Federal Baseball v. National League case had single-handed steered the business of baseball for over a 100 years and how each decision point has had to navigate around that case. In college sports, the Board of Regents v. NCAA set the antitrust dominoes in motion to what we are seeing with the House case and others. As a practitioner, teaching gives you a chance to lift yourself out of the day-to-day to understand the big picture too, which is not so easy to do.
Q: What tools do you use?
A: In class, we use a mix of cases and current events, including the Sports Litigation Alert. The cases build up the history and theory side while the current events help to make it more real for the students.
Q: What advice would you give someone seeking to become an adjunct?
A: I personally love teaching. I find it very refreshing – it is the same feeling I get when you work with youth sports after dealing with pro and sports business issues – it just gives you a bit of an oasis where there are not always “stakes” in everything you do. You can afford to put your attention into helping others to learn and develop rather than driving specific outcomes on a matter. It takes a certain type of personality to teach – you are serving as a mentor rather than trying to be the superstar – and shifting gears like that is not always so easy. But it is always a great way to dip your toe into teaching by guest lecturing one or two classes first. You can see how comfortable you are with it and get a sense of whether you will enjoy it enough to take on a bigger role.
Jack Mills, UC Boulder
Question: How did you get your start?
Answer: My first adjunct position was at the University of Colorado Law teaching a sports law class. I recall that a group of students wanted a sports law class, I think it was a Sports Law Society group, and they asked me to teach.
Q: What has been the secret to your success?
A: The secret to my success is pretty basic: be well prepared and give the students the real-world experience as well as the casebook learning. Also be accessible to students outside of class.
Q: What tools do you use?
A: Tools used were just casebook, usually Sports and the Law by Roberts and Weiler. We also spent time every class on sports law current events as there is usually something weekly. I also brought in outside speakers each semester such as Pierre Lacroix (Colorado Avalanche), Rick Reilly (Sports Illustrated), Travis Tygart (USADA) and Dick Moss (former GC of MLBPA and baseball agent).
Q: What advice would you give?
A: For anyone wanting to be an adjunct I would recommend that you make your desire known to your local law school or possibly business school for sports management. These positions don’t usually pay well but you can derive a lot of satisfaction from the relationships with students and possible mentoring. It’s an opportunity to “give back” for something you have been privileged to do.
Caleb Jay (Vice President & General Counsel of Arizona Diamondbacks), Arizona State University
Question: What was your first adjunct position teaching sports law and how did it come about?
Answer: In 2004, Dominican University of California was looking for a professor to teach a Sports Law class to its undergraduate students. Dominican reached out to the Sport Management program at the University of San Francisco for recommendations. Since I received both my M.A. in Sport Management and J.D. from USF, the school referred me to Dominican, where I taught for 4 years. After moving to Arizona in 2007, I continued teaching at local law schools and have been at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University since 2011.
Q: What has been the secret to your success as an adjunct?
A: Incorporating topics and areas of law that students can take with them in any area of practice – not just in sports. Also, we start every class with a general discussion of student-suggested current events in the sports world. It allows them to get their mental engines running and hopefully ready to be engaged in discussions throughout the class. Another successful practice is to have anonymous student reviews of the class halfway through the semester. It ensures the students get a worthwhile experience during the second half of the semester as adjustments are made based on their feedback. However, notwithstanding their pleas, I still will never have an open book exam!
Q: What tools do you use (text and other materials) when teaching sports law?
A: The Sports Litigation Alert by Hackney Publications. I assign past articles that line up with each class topic (Employment Law, Risk Management, Intellectual Property, etc.). I also incorporate online images and videos relevant to the topics covered in class.
Q: What would you recommend to someone who wants to become an adjunct?
A: Be proactive and contact schools to discuss opportunities. It is also important to have the flexibility to establish your own curriculum. Doing so allows you to share your areas of
Ellen Zavian, George Washington University
Question: What was your first adjunct position teaching sports law and how did it come about?
Answer: I taught at University of Baltimore Law School, teaching sports law, when the Professor retired. I had spoken in the class for him, and he recommended me.
Q: What has been the secret to your success as an adjunct?
A: Constant learning and absorbing the knowledge in the room
Q: What tools do you use (text and other materials) when teaching sports law?
A: I teach in an MBA program but use an undergraduate textbook b/c I enjoy supplementing the text with actual cases and hands on group projects. This year was the first year I have incorporated the use of AI into my assignments, as they negotiate a sports related contract.
Q: What would you recommend to someone who wants to become an adjunct?
A: Most folks like to speak at sports law classes as a guest speaker, discussing their career. I recommend you actually teach a class, on a specific topic, which will provide you with an understanding of the task you are seeking. Focus on bringing in topics from your practice, as the students want real life scenarios.
Robert A. Boland (of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP), Seton Hall University
Question: How did you get your start?
Answer: A great question, particularly resonant for me. My first teaching job as an adjunct was in NYU’s undergraduate sports management program. I never have to remember my first class- it was September 11, 2001 and the class was a mile and maybe a few extra yards from ground zero. I was all in because in two years I was a full-time faculty member, then chair of the program and finally Associate Dean/Academic Chair of an 800-student division offering five bachelor’s degrees and masters in Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management.
Q: What tools do you use?
A: I used the Weiler, now Ross, West text. NYU had Lexis-Nexis and I moved classes over to a series of cases to lower costs.
Q: What has been the secret to your success?
A: One of the tradeoffs in teaching sports law to non-law students is you tend to focus more on business outcomes and distill content down to that more than focusing on jurisprudence.
On the flip side now exclusively or mostly teaching in law schools Penn State and Seton Hall the last 10 years, law students seem troubled by the complexity and range of issues encompassed in sports law. They often want it to be a lighter topic.
The NYU program with law so central to sports especially in the market- created concentrations in Sports Law and Governance in both the graduate and undergraduate curriculum. Ultimately, we launched courses in Sports Law, Sports Contracts, Antitrust and Collective Bargaining in Sports, International Sports Governance, and Leagues and Governing Organizations over my 15 years there. We probably sent 100 grads to law schools from Harvard to Hofstra, and they are at places like Covington & Burling, NBC, the NFL and the list goes on. I even get to refer a case to some now and then.
I co-taught Sports Law at NYU Law for three years with the legendary Arthur R. Miller- where you know, my students included the daughter of a current major commissioner, a partner in Jeff Kessler’s group at Winston Strawn and a leading Olympic movement lawyer.
Q: What would you recommend to someone who wants to become an adjunct?
A: I have slid back and forth over my 25-year teaching career from being mostly a practitioner who teaches, to being a teacher who practices a bit, to what I am now intentionally in both worlds where my practice brings the most current ideas to my classroom. Teaching has unquestionably improved my ability to practice and pursue a career, explain things.
Mat Jessep (Principal Lawyer of Game Legal), University of Technology Sydney
Question: What was your first adjunct position teaching sports law and how did it come about?
Answer: My first adjunct teaching position was as an Honorary Senior Fellow of Melbourne Law School (Australia’s top law school) in January 2019, being engaged to develop and teach a postgraduate subject, ‘Esports and The Law’. At the time I had been practicing law for a decade or so and had been focusing on clients in sport for 5 years and esports clients since 2016, and had gained a reputation in the market off the back of several high-profile matters and transactions in the esports space.
I had known Professor Jack Anderson for several years beforehand, but I hadn’t known that he was seeking to include an esports focused law subject as part of the University of Melbourne’s Law School Sports Law Master’s program until he approached me to develop the course in early 2019. Jack and I then taught the course together in July 2019 as a 1 week intensive with an 8,000-word essay as the assessment due later in the semester.
I then continued to develop the course as the esports space continued to evolve and taught it on my own again in 2021 and 2022. The Sports Law Master’s program was discontinued by the faculty off the back of the pandemic, and the future of my course is uncertain (let me know if your local law faculty wants a postgraduate esports course).
From that opportunity and my experience practicing in sports integrity, I was approached by Victoria University (also in Melbourne, Australia) in early 2020 to step in to teach their postgraduate ‘Sports Integrity & Ethics’ course as a Sessional Academic. I started teaching this immediately before the pandemic swept the world and continued online for students. Starting in mid-2020 the Australian sports integrity landscape went through several significant shifts and Victoria University invited me back in 2021 to redesign the course and teach it via a 1-month intensive program.
I was then approached to co-teach the University of Technology Sydney’s ‘Sports Law’ course in early 2022 as a Casual Academic by Michael Bricknell, the course convenor. I continue to teach this Faculty of Law undergraduate course (Australian law students can study law as their initial tertiary education course, earning a Bachelor of Laws) and develop seminars on sports law frameworks, sports integrity, disputes, and emerging issues. With my fellow lecturers, we have grown this elective course from teaching to 80 students per year to now teaching 160 students across 2 semesters.
Q: What has been the secret to your success as an adjunct?
A: Managing my own sports law focused law firm on a full-time basis does often make it difficult to also manage a part-time sports law teaching commitment (along with a family and a dog and a cat), but I’ve made it work with minimal conflict. One big strategy that has worked for me is to set students’ expectations as soon as possible with regards to the fact that I am not a full-time or tenured member of the law faculty. I explain this to students in the initial lecture, providing examples as to how this may impact their experience with my teaching, including that I may take a little longer to respond to emails and ask that they exhaust all online resources in the subject guide before asking any questions via email.
Communication is key – if a client needs something in the lead up to a class and I am going to run late because of this; I always try to communicate the situation to students via the online learning management system.
Teaching outside of my home-base of Sydney, Australia, previously was also not always conducive to the smooth running of my own firm. At times I felt overstretched and under-supported when trying to run classes and manage my client’s needs in another city hundreds of miles away from my office for a week or more. Now teaching at the University of Technology Sydney, which is a 10-minute drive from my office on the other side of the city, I feel like I can manage both obligations more effectively. I guess what I’m saying here is to try not to over stretch yourself – make it easier on yourself to try and manage your obligations and don’t set yourself up for failure.
Q: What tools do you use (text and other materials) when teaching sports law?
A: We don’t have a set textbook for the UTS ‘Sports Law’ undergrad subject; we set journal articles as reading tasks to supplement the live seminars and lectures in class.
All teaching materials and the subject guide are stored upon the University’s online learning management system, which is also where we mark assessments and manage grades. This platform also manages teacher to student communications.
Seeking to teach sports law in a very practical way, I rely heavily on moving beyond theory and presenting topics in a way that draws upon my experiences day-to-day in my firm (de-identifying clients and sensitive matters, of course). I also use a lot of case studies to bring issues to life for students, of which there are always new and interesting ones in the world of sports law.
We also set very practical assessment tasks – group presentations each week on niche areas of that week’s lecture topic, written and oral submissions in a mock sporting tribunal, and a legal review and advice drafting exercise. These assessments help deliver the teaching objectives in ways that also give students an insight into the workings of a sports law practice.
Q: What would you recommend to someone who wants to become an adjunct?
A: If interested, I’d recommend someone seek out an opportunity to initially deliver guest lectures on their specialty. If that opportunity develops, I’d further recommend that the contents of the guest lecture be focused on practical matters and strategies that have worked for your clients in the real world. If the material is well received, this may become a regular invite which can be expanded out should the right opportunity present itself.
Another way to get involved initially would be to volunteer your time as a judge in a sports law class negotiation exercise or as an arbitrator in a mock tribunal competition or the like. Such assistance is always welcomed by busy sports law lecturers – full-time and otherwise.
Like any opportunity worth exploring, it would be highly unlikely to land in your lap, so I’d recommend seeking out possibilities such as the above suggestions. If you really want to do something, find a way to make it happen!
William J. Robers, ESQ
Question: How did you get your start as a sports law professor?
Answer: First position was teaching Sport Law to undergrads at University of Colorado – Colorado Springs (“UCCS”). Sport Law is part of the curriculum in the Business School to get the degree in Sports Management. It came about as I knew the director of the Sports Management Program at UCCS. We were at lunch one day, and we were discussing the Program. I asked who he had teaching the Sport Law class, and it was a regular business PhD. I suggested he really should have an attorney (retired or practicing) who worked in that area teaching the undergrads, as they understand the material better. I didn’t really think of it being me, at the time. Shortly thereafter, I received an email from him asking if I’d like to teach one class per semester.
Q: What has been the secret to your success?
A: I don’t teach anymore, as budget cuts and reduced enrollment in the Sports Management Program caused the class to go to one semester. At that point, it wasn’t financially worth it to be away from my family even more than I already am with my regular job. However, when I taught, the secret was to understand the material, and have some good war stories for the students. They loved hearing the war stories more than just going through the curriculum. I also had some participation activities, such as a salary negotiation for a coach and a “Mock Trial” argument for teams of students. The success also had a TON to do with the materials. Matt Mitten’s book (specifically for undergrads) makes things very easy to follow for a lecturer. I also had guest speakers come in from the USOPC, sports agencies, USADA, Mountain West, and more. Kids loved that.
Q: What tools did your use?
A: I used Matt Mitten’s text for undergrads. I also used Sports Litigation Alert for the kids to talk about current events, and prepare for mock trials.
Q: What advice would you give someone?
A: It takes a lot of time to be a professor. Don’t let them overload you with class size. It takes a LONG time to grade papers. So, multiple choice is your friend. The more students, the more reading is required of the papers. Keep it interesting for the kids, and include some war stories, if possible. Bring in guest speakers from the industry. Make sure they are prepared for the kids, as the students are varied. Some really like sport law, some hate it. Some want to be in college sports, some in pros, some agents, etc. Keep it entertaining.
Darren Heitner, University of Florida
Question: What was your first adjunct position teaching sports law and how did it come about?
Answer: Many years ago, I was invited to provide a speech to the sports business community at Indiana University. Little did I know that the department heads were sitting in the back of the auditorium and, after my speech, they approached me and offered me the opportunity to teach a course on Sports Agency Management. The kicker was that I would not have to travel to Bloomington, Indiana, and could instead teach the course virtually from my office in South Florida. That led to me teaching such a course for a few years. Today, many of my former students are successful practitioners in the sports business, including some who have worked for players’ associations, Excel Sports Management, and Creative Artists Agency.
Q: What has been the secret to your success as an adjunct?
A: Don’t be afraid to learn as you go and pivot your methodology of teaching. Provide as many real-world examples as possible. Be nimble and change up the syllabus on a whim if there is an instant update relevant to the discourse you are teaching. Focus less on theory and more on applying information to real-time issues and events.
Q: What tools do you use (text and other materials) when teaching sports law?
A: Guest speakers, hypothetical scenarios, and recorded video clips.
Q: What would you recommend to someone who wants to become an adjunct?
A: Be prepared for a lot of work and little pay. It’s a whirlwind when you’re in the middle of teaching and often seems unmanageable. But it’s incredibly rewarding to know you are hopefully leaving the industry you love in a better place.
Libba Galloway, Stetson University
Question: How did you get your start?
Answer: My first adjunct position was teaching in the (now-defunct) graduate program in Sport Management at Jacksonville University. It was actually teaching a course called “Ethical Decision-Making”, not sports law, but I incorporated a number of concepts commonly included in sports law courses, such as anti-doping and gambling. I got the job as a result of sending out letters to all universities in north and central Florida with sport management programs, expressing my interest in teaching. Within the next several years, as a result of those letters and through contacts in the sports industry, I also had adjunct positions teaching sports law at Florida Coastal Law School, the University of Florida Master’s program in Sport Management, and at the undergraduate levels at Stetson University and the University of North Florida. This led to a full-time position as Assistant Professor of Practice and Director of the Business Law Program in the School of Business Administration at Stetson, where I currently teach Legal Concepts of Sport Business and a seminar called Hot Buttons in Sport Business, as well as serve as Chair of the Department of Management and Organizations.
Q: What has been the secret to your success?
A: I attribute my success in teaching to engaging students through (a) getting to know each of them and their particular interests, (b) infusing my experience in sports law and sports business into the academic study, and (c) continually updating the material to include current issues and events.
Q: What tools do you use?
A: Because the world of sports law and business changes faster than textbooks can keep up with and because there are so many good online resources, I no longer use a traditional textbook. Instead, I introduce “black-letter” legal concepts (such as torts, contracts, and intellectual property) with general summaries available online, and then bring those concepts to life within the world of sports by having students read selected articles from the Sports Litigation Alert archives or other online resources. I require students to subscribe to the Sports Litigation Alert, and I often get comments from students about how helpful the Alert is to their learning process.
Q: What advice would you give?
A: My biggest piece of advice to anyone thinking about becoming an adjunct is to be realistic about what it involves. To be an effective teacher, you will probably need to work harder for less money than you ever have in your life — rarely will you be successful by just telling war stories without spending hours preparing for class. But teaching and interacting with college students can be a very rewarding experience. And if you are patient and the stars align, as they did for me, you might be able to parlay the adjunct gig into a full-time position.
