By Justin Giacobbe
Seton Hall University School of Law hosted its Sixth Annual Sports Law Symposium, The Rules of the Game, on October 24, 2025, assembling an impressive roster of legal practitioners, professors, and industry executives. Organized by the Entertainment and Sports Law Society and guided by Professor Bob Boland, the event featured four panels addressing the legal, business, ethical, and social transformations redefining contemporary athletics.
Over the course of the day, panelists examined topics ranging from the legal implications of House v. NCAA and the commercialization of college athletics to the rise of investment in women’s sports, the operations of professional leagues, and the philosophical roots of sports ethics within the legal profession. The symposium highlighted Seton Hall’s growing reputation as a hub for conversation at the intersection of sports, law, and policy since launching its JD concentration in Gaming, Hospitality, Entertainment, and Sports Law in 2022, drawing an overflow crowd to the law school’s DeCotiis Moot Court Room for much of the day.
Panel 1: Women’s Sports and Title IX: Right Now!
The symposium opened with a panel devoted to women’s sports and the ongoing evolution of Title IX. The discussion featured Dean Rochelle Outlaw Edwards, Assistant Dean of Equity, Justice, and Engagement at Seton Hall Law; Julie Sommer, Executive Director of The Drake Group; Arthur Bryant, a leading Title IX attorney with his own firm, Arthur Bryant Law; and Scott Schneider, principal of Schneider Education & Employment Law Services.
The panelists agreed that while women’s sports have seen extraordinary growth in visibility, investment, and fan engagement, they also face renewed threats in the post-House era. The financial and legal frameworks emerging from the settlement, they noted, have in some instances prompted schools to reduce funding or cut women’s teams to offset budget pressures created by expanding men’s athletic expenditures.
Panelists discussed recent litigation challenging such program reductions, emphasizing that Title IX’s mandate remains a critical legal safeguard against inequitable treatment. They also critiqued the prevailing method of valuing athletes based on broadcast revenue, arguing that it reinforces systemic inequities by undervaluing women’s sports. Instead, they advocated for athlete valuation systems that recognize contribution, performance, and community impact rather than market exposure alone.
The conversation underscored a central theme of the symposium: the need to ensure that the financial and structural reforms sweeping through college and professional athletics do not erode the progress made under Title IX over the last half-century.
Panel 2: Inside the Leagues: Legal and Business Practices Behind the Games
The second session turned attention to the governance and economics of professional sports leagues. The panel included Frank Hawkins, former Senior Vice President for Business at the National Football League; Doug Logan, the founding commissioner of Major League Soccer; Ken Belson of The New York Times; and Jack Mula, former General Counsel for the New England Patriots.
Together, the speakers provided a behind-the-scenes view of how professional leagues have evolved into sophisticated commercial enterprises driven by ownership strategy, media rights, and real estate development. They credited influential owners such as Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft with recognizing the economic potential of stadium development and related commercial projects, noting that these ventures have substantially increased franchise valuations and fan engagement.
Doug Logan offered historical insight into the early structure of Major League Soccer, describing how the league’s original single-entity model was designed to protect it from antitrust challenges at a time when professional soccer’s financial viability was uncertain. The innovative structure, supported by legal guidance from Proskauer Rose, provided the foundation for the league’s long-term stability.
The panel also traced the NFL’s growth under successive commissioners, from Pete Rozelle’s media partnerships to Paul Tagliabue’s collective bargaining strategies and Roger Goodell’s modern branding initiatives. Mula and Hawkins highlighted how the construction of Gillette Stadium exemplified the financial foresight of committed ownership and demonstrated how infrastructure investment can solidify a team’s long-term value.
Overall, the panel illustrated how professional leagues have combined legal innovation, business acumen, and leadership continuity to sustain their dominance in the global sports marketplace.
Panel 3: Navigating the Present Crisis in College Athletics
The third panel brought together practitioners whose recent litigation has reshaped the boundaries of collegiate sports law. Moderated by Bart Lambergman of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, the panel featured attorneys Gregg Clifton of Lewis Brisbois; Kevin Marino of Marino, Tortorella & Boyle; Tom Mars of the Mars Firm; Bennett Speyer of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick; Julie Sommer of The Drake Group; and Diana Florence of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick who have won significant victories in court or via contract in the collegiate setting.
The panelists addressed the accelerating collapse of the NCAA’s amateurism model and the resulting uncertainty facing institutions, athletes, and lawyers alike. Clifton described how recent federal injunctions and pending appellate cases reflect a judicial trend toward recognizing college sports as a commercial enterprise rather than an amateur pursuit.
Marino, a distinguished Seton Hall Law alumnus, discussed the transformation of antitrust doctrine in cases such as that of Jett Elad, a college quarterback whose eligibility dispute centered on NIL opportunities and transfer restrictions. His analysis emphasized that modern college athletics, with its billion-dollar media contracts and player compensation structures, cannot plausibly be treated as noncommercial.
Florence highlighted how eligibility and injury-related cases, including those involving athletes like Tez Walker and Dejuan Clayton, have given rise to a new form of athlete-rights litigation. Her comments pointed to a growing recognition of the student-athlete as a rights-bearing individual entitled to legal representation and equitable treatment.
Speyer and Mars examined the contractual side of collegiate athletics, focusing on escalating coaching buyouts and tax liabilities. They discussed how a 21-percent federal excise tax on compensation exceeding one million dollars has incentivized universities to structure terminations “for cause” to minimize cost exposure, a practice that often leads to protracted disputes. Coaches and universities nationwide seek the advice and counsel of these advocates for their knowledge and expertise, especially in the 2025 college football season as top coaches are ousted with large buyouts.
Sommer concluded the discussion with a warning about the House v. NCAA settlement’s unintended gender-equity implications, observing that valuation models tied to broadcast revenue risk sidelining women athletes in future revenue-sharing frameworks.
Collectively, the panel depicted an ecosystem in transition—one in which federal legislation remains uncertain, litigation continues to drive reform, and the NCAA’s authority appears increasingly fragmented.
Panel 4: Ethics and the Rules of the Game
The final panel examined the intersection of sportsmanship, moral philosophy, and legal ethics. Featuring Professors Michael Coenen, Michael Granne, and Francesca Zaccaron, the session expanded on Professor Coenen’s innovative course “Rules of the Game,” which draws parallels between the moral codes of sports and the professional responsibilities of lawyers.
The inclusion of panels offering CLE credits in Diversity and Ethics, each exploring the philosophical foundations shared by both sports and law, was intentional. This structure provided attorneys with the opportunity to earn specialized credits while reinforcing the idea of sports as a powerful laboratory for examining broader societal issues.
Ultimately, the discussion emphasized the deep connections between law and sports as disciplines grounded in jurisprudential, procedural, and philosophical principles—all of which must align for either system to function effectively.
Conclusion
Seton Hall’s Sixth Annual Sports Law Symposium provided a complete view of the legal and ethical dimensions shaping modern athletics. From the evolving landscape of Title IX and the corporate strategies driving professional leagues to the ongoing litigation redefining college sports and the philosophical parallels between sportsmanship and lawyering, each panel reflected the complexity and interconnectedness of the sports industry today.
As sports continue to evolve as a multibillion-dollar global enterprise, the symposium underscored that lawyers play a vital role not only in resolving disputes but also in shaping the norms, contracts, and ethical frameworks that sustain the games themselves. Seton Hall Law’s commitment to advancing this dialogue reaffirms its place at the forefront of sports law education and professional thought leadership.
Justin Giacobbe is a third-year J.D. candidate at Seton Hall University School of Law, where he is an editor on the Seton Hall Law Review and a member of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society. He previously externed with Justice Wainer Apter of the New Jersey Supreme Court and is currently an extern to Judge Brian Martinotti of the United States District Court of New Jersey. He plans to pursue a career at the intersection of sports, business, and law. He will begin his legal career at Lowenstein Sandler upon graduation.
