CLICK HERE to register to attend the symposium.

Spring 2011 Sports Law Symposium – Friday, March 25, 2011

The Changing Face of Intercollegiate Athletics:

Amateurs, Academics, and the Athletic Arms Race

Harvard Law School

Friday, March 25, 2011

9:30am-6:30pm

Morning Session (9:30am-1:00pm) in Ames Courtroom (2nd Floor, Austin Hall)

Afternoon Session (1:00pm-6:30pm) in Ames Courtroom (2nd Floor, Austin Hall)

OVERVIEW

Harvard Law School’s Committee on Sports and Entertainment Law will host the 2011 Sports Law Symposium on Friday, March 25, 2011.  CSEL’s 2011 Sports Law Symposium will focus on the legal and business issues surrounding intercollegiate athletics and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.  The theme of the symposium will be: “The Changing Face of Intercollegiate Athletics: Amateurs, Academics, and the Athletic Arms Race.”

The Keynote Speaker for the symposium is Sonny Vaccaro, “The Godfather of Basketball”.  A former sports marketing executive with Nike, Adidas, and Reebok, Vaccaro will discuss his current role as an advocate for NCAA student-athletes, including his role as a consultant in O’Bannon v. NCAA.

The event is free and open to the public.

CLICK HERE to register to attend the symposium.

SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE

(NOTE THE ROOM CHANGES – Entire Symposium now in Ames Courtroom)

SYMPOSIUM TIMELINE

MORNING SESSION – Ames Courtroom

9:00am-9:30am                       Continental Breakfast

9:30am-10:40am                     Panel #1 – AMATEURISM PANEL

10:40am-10:50am                   Break

10:50am-12:00pm                   Panel #2 – CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT PANEL

LUNCH SESSION: Sports Legacy Institute – Ames Courtroom (Lunch provided)

12:00pm-12:15pm                   Opening remarks, Weiler Writing Prize and Scholarship

12:15pm-1:00pm                     Sports Legacy Institute Panel

AFTERNOON SESSION – Ames Courtroom, Second Floor in Austin Hall (Snacks provided)

1:10pm-2:20pm                       Panel #3 – ATHLETE-AGENT PANEL

2:20pm-2:30pm                       Break

2:30pm-3:40pm                       Panel #4 – LITIGATING AGAINST THE NCAA

3:40pm-3:50pm                       Break

3:50pm-5:00pm                       Panel #5 – THE BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

KEYNOTE SPEAKER – Ames Courtroom, Second Floor in Austin Hall

5:00-6:15pm                            Sonny Vaccaro

RECEPTION – South Dining Room, Second Floor in Harkness Commons

6:30pm                                    Reception, all speakers and attendees invited

PANEL AND PANELISTS OVERVIEW

KEYNOTE SPEAKER – SONNY VACCARO

Known as “The Godfather of Grassroots Basketball,” Sonny Vaccaro currently serves as an advocate for student-athletes.  Vaccaro is perhaps best known as a sports marketing executive (he signed Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant to their first shoe deals) and as a pioneer of the summer basketball circuit (he founded the ABCD Summer Camp and co-founded the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic).  In his second career, however, Vaccaro has taken on a new role as an advocate for student-athletes in an effort to change the NCAA’s treatment of student-athletes.  Vaccaro has been an outspoken critic of the NCAA’s transfer rules, one-year athletic scholarship rule, and commercialization of student-athletes.  Vaccaro also has spoken out against the NBA’s age-limit rule, which prevents amateur basketball players from jumping straight from high school to the NBA.

Vaccaro currently serves as a consultant for the plaintiffs in O’Bannon v. NCAA, a class action lawsuit that could dramatically alter the college sports landscape.  The O’Bannon lawsuit, which survived a motion to dismiss, alleges that that the NCAA violated federal antitrust laws by barring college athletes, once their playing days are over, from profiting off NCAA- or college-licensed products that use players’ images and likenesses.  Vaccaro’s work as an advocate for student-athletes has garnered national media attention, as he will be featured in Money and March Madness, a PBS Frontline special that airs Tuesday, March 29th at 9pm and examines the multi-billion dollar industry of amateur college sports.

PANEL #1 – AMATEURISM PANEL

Different sports entities answer the question “what it means to be an amateur” in different ways.  This panel takes a “comparative” approach to amateurism and look at how domestic and international sports organizations and entities (e.g., NCAA, IOC, and other sports regulatory bodies) define “amateurism.”  This panel will discuss how each type of organization defines “amateur” differently, and ask, normatively, what is the best way to define “amateurism”

• TIME: 9:30-10:40am (Ames Courtroom)
• PANELISTS: Roger Abrams (Northeastern University Law School), Jeremy Bloom (World Champion Skier), Christian Dennie (Barlow, Garsek & Simon LLP), Paul Haagen (Duke University), Michael McCann (Vermont Law School and SI.com), John Nichols (Penn State University and Co-Chair of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics)

PANEL #2 – CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT PANEL

Over the past year, the landscape of college athletics has been dramatically altered with the movement of numerous teams to new conferences, including Nebraska to the Big 10, Colorado and Utah to the Pacific 10, Boise State to the Mountain West, and Brigham Young to independent status.  This raises issues about amateurism and the role of the NCAA in either facilitating or impeding conference realignment. This panel will explore legal and ethical issues related to amateurism and the role of the NCAA in conference realignment.

• TIME: 10:50am-12:00pm (Ames Courtroom)
• PANELISTS: Greg Byrne (Athletics Director, University of Arizona), Bubba Cunningham (Athletics Director, University of Tulsa), Kristi Dosh (Taylor English Duma LLP and Forbes.com), Patti Ohlendorf (VP of Legal Affairs for the University of Texas at Austin), Patrick Rishe (Webster University and Forbes.com), Jason Russell (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom), Glenn Wong (UMass Isenberg School of Management)

SPORTS LEGACY INSTITUTE LUNCHEON

The mission of the Sports Legacy Institute is to advance the study, treatment and prevention of the effects of brain trauma in athletes and other at-risk groups.  SLI was founded on June 14, 2007 by Chris Nowinski and Dr. Robert Cantu in reaction to new medical research indicating brain trauma in sports had become a public health crisis.  SLI has formalized groundbreaking neuropathological research by partnering with Boston University School of Medicine to form the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.  SLI President and CEO Chris Nowinski and other panelists will discuss SLI’s research and community outreach efforts and address the concussion crisis as it relates to intercollegiate athletes.

• TIME: 12:00-1:00pm (Ames Courtroom)
• PANELISTS: Dave Bergeron (Stanford University, NFL) Peter Carfagna (Harvard Law School), Jen Choiniere (Georgetown Soccer, Sports Legacy Institute), Matt Henshon (Princeton University, Harvard Law School), Isaiah Kacyvenski (Harvard College, NFL), Pete Kendall (Boston College, NFL), Chris Nowinski (Harvard College, WWE, SLI President and CEO), Dave Zucker (Harvard Law School)

PANEL #3 – ATHLETE-AGENT PANEL

The relationship between player agents and college athletes remains a hot topic for colleges, players, agents, players’ unions, and state governments.  Assuming we want to retain a model in which student-athletes are amateurs, how should colleges, unions, and states prevent agents from engaging in impermissible relationships with athletes?  More importantly, what role should colleges and universities play in assisting student-athletes who “go pro” in sports? This panel will discuss the athlete-agent issue by exploring agent regulation, how student-athletes and agents interact under the current regulatory regime, and what programs are in place to assist student-athletes who “go pro” in sports.

• TIME: 1:10-2:20pm (Ames Courtroom)
• PANELISTS: Peter Carfagna (Harvard Law School), David Cornwell (DNK Cornwell), David Dunn (Athletes First), Dan Fitzgerald (Brody Wilkinson PC, Connecticut Sports Law Blog), Jason Levien (Agent and Former General Counsel, Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager of the Sacramento Kings), Mike Zarren (Assistant General Manager of the Boston Celtics), Warren Zola (Boston College)

PANEL #4 – LITIGATING AGAINST THE NCAA – O’BANNON/KELLER/AGNEW LAWSUITS

Three pending class action lawsuits (O’Bannon v. NCAA, Keller v. EA Sports, and Agnew v. NCAA) have the potential to forever change college sports.  The O’Bannon and Keller lawsuits attack the NCAA’s licensing practices as violations of antitrust laws and the players’ rights of publicity, while Agnew’s lawsuit challenges the NCAA’s 37-year-old practice of giving one-year scholarships.  This panel will explore the merits of the pending lawsuits and the potential impact of a successful outcome for any of the plaintiffs.

• TIME: 2:30-3:40pm (Ames Courtroom)
• PANELISTS: Gabe Feldman (Tulane University Law School), Rick Karcher (Florida Coastal School of Law), Ron Katz (Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP), Jon King (Hausfeld LLP), Ed O’Bannon (Former NCAA Men’s Basketball Player and Lead Plaintiff in O’Bannon v. NCAA), Libby Sander (Chronicle of Higher Education)

PANEL #5 – BCS PANEL

The Bowl Championship Series has been attacked by legal scholars, state attorney generals, and other interested parties as violating federal antitrust law.  In 2010-11, however, non automatic-qualifying schools took home a record $24.7 million.  Additionally, Playoff PAC recently submitted a report to the Internal Revenue Service challenging the tax-exempt status of the Fiesta, Orange, and Sugar Bowls and arguing that the three BCS bowls should not be considered Section 501(c)(3) charities.  This panel explores the antitrust and tax issues associated with the BCS.

• TIME: 3:50-5:00pm (Ames Courtroom)
• PANELISTS: Marc Edelman (Barry University’s Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law), Brian Frederick (Sports Fans Coalition), Alan Fishel (Arent Fox), Nathaniel Grow (University of Georgia), Stephen Ross (Penn State University Law School), Mark Shurtleff (Utah Attorney General), Katie Thomas (New York Times)