You can go home again. Or at least that is what Brad Corbin has learned.
In 2015, Corbin returned to his Southern Ohio/Northern Kentucky roots, where he was born and raised, to become the assistant athletic director of compliance at Miami University. For that reason and others, the school was “a very unique draw.”
In the intervening years, Corbin has cultivated a model career in NCAA compliance, making him a model subject for our regular interview with a compliance professional.
Question: At what point did you know you wanted to work in athletics, and what was the attraction?
Answer: I have always enjoyed sports, whether playing or watching, and I am a pretty competitive person. Working in athletics always felt like a natural fit. Now that I’ve been in the industry for roughly a decade, I understand that being around sports is the tip of the iceberg. I thoroughly enjoy working with immensely driven co-workers and helping to maximize the student-athlete experience.
Q: If you were a lawyer in private practice and you couldn’t practice sports law, what kind of law would you practice?
A: I wouldn’t! I thoroughly enjoy being law-adjacent but have never had a desire to practice. When I went to law school, I did so with the intention of opening up doors in the sport industry. Luckily, it worked, and I have never been forced to develop a back-up plan. As odd as it sounds, I am actually drawn to compliance-related work. I enjoy drafting and implementing policies that meld regulatory intent with operational efficiency.
Q: Were there any mentors during your education at Louisville and how did they impact you?
A: As a professor, you just cannot find better than Anita Moorman. Her enthusiasm for sport law was contagious and it really embedded in me the belief that I could get a legal education and not give up my sport path. In addition to Anita, I was lucky enough to be guided by two wonderful and experienced compliance officers at Louisville, John Carns and Lauren Rust. John and Lauren taught me the ropes of compliance, helped me establish confidence, and gave me tremendous guidance about handling this job on a daily basis. All three of these incredible people were instrumental in helping me get where I am today.
Q: What is the key to running a successful compliance department?
A: I passionately believe that the foundation of a good compliance department is building and managing relationships. You can know every detail of the legislation but if you can’t sit down and have honest conversations with coaches, student-athletes, and staff, your job is going to be much tougher. Compliance is not always an easy or fun job but having good relationships makes it much more manageable.
Q: What is the best part of your job?
A: The little wins are the most enjoyable for me. Finding a way to help maximize a benefit for a student-athlete, working with a coach or staff member to creatively solve a problem, or winning a waiver request. These are all the types of wins that bring you back day after day. Seeing your teams and student-athletes succeed is pretty great, too.
Q: What is the most challenging aspect?
A: This is a tough question. There are several aspects of compliance that are tough but the most challenging might be the most basic: you have to be willing and able to engage in conflict and speak up when it might not be popular to do so. That type of work environment and expectation isn’t for everyone.
Q: How has participating on the NAAC DI Reasonable Standards Committee benefitted your career?
A: This is an experience that has been incredibly beneficial for me professionally. I have the opportunity to collaborate with a lot of experienced and knowledgeable compliance professionals while crafting standards that provide guidance to compliance offices across the country. Hearing all of the comments and perspectives that go into the creation of a standard has been pretty eye-opening, as well.
Q: How has COVID 19 changed the NCAA compliance function?
A: It has been a pretty hectic time to be a compliance officer, frankly. The function of our office is now primarily communication. We need our coaches, student-athletes, and staff to get the information as it churns out on an almost-daily basis. You don’t ever want the people you work with to be operating off of old information, but you also can’t inundate them with an email every six hours when a rule, waiver, or interpretation changes. Trying to balance the interests of sending new information and not burning everyone out is certainly a unique aspect of the current times.
