These are supplemental electives that support preparation for the areas in which sports lawyers often practice: 

Austin Weaver (19JD) - General Counsel, Association of Pickleball Players 

Austin Weaver is General Counsel for the Association of Pickleball Players. He handles a variety of legal matters while providing operational oversight and strategic leadership. 

Austin had a variety of professional experiences before joining APP, including Corporate Counsel roles at media and software companies. He has also practiced as an attorney at a law firm and spent nearly 5 years in multiple roles with Front Office Sports, a multiplatform media brand focused on the influence of sports on business and culture. 

Austin received his J.D. from The University of Iowa College of Law, while also earning an M.B.A. from The University of Iowa Tippie College of Business. He received his undergraduate degree in Communications from Southeastern Oklahoma State University. 

Austin Weaver was recently named to Modern Counsel's 35-under-35 list in the area of sports law: a distinguished acknowledgement of young and exceptional legal professionals who represent the next generation of lawyers. 

Karin Nelsen (93JD) - Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer, Minnesota Vikings 

Karin Nelsen is the Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer for the Minnesota Vikings. She is responsible for the organization's legal functions as well as relationships with outside counsel. Nelsen plays a lead role in the Vikings' philanthropic work, which includes community relations, youth football, and the Minnesota Vikings Foundation. She is also active in furthering the diversity and inclusion efforts of the team. 

Prior to joining the Vikings, Karin spent 18 years with Cargill, Inc. Karin joined Cargill in 1998 and supported a broad range of businesses and geographies during her tenure. Prior to joining Cargill, she worked as a litigator in Seattle and Minneapolis law firms and worked as a CPA at Touche Ross before starting law school. 

Karin received her law degree from The University of Iowa College of Law and earned her undergraduate degree in accounting from Minnesota State University, Mankato. 

Seth Balke (21JD) - Assistant Director of Compliance, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 

Seth Balke is the incoming Assistant Director of Compliance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln after serving at this position at Texas Christian University. At TCU, he worked with all 22 sports on compliance matters dealing with all NCAA Bylaws. Seth has specific oversight of playing and practice seasons (Bylaw 17) as well as roster management and educational programming for the athletics department and TCU campus partners. 

Prior to joining TCU, Seth served as a compliance intern at the University of Iowa for three years. He received his B.A. in political science from Creighton University in 2018. He received his J.D. and Masters in Sports and Recreation Management from the University of Iowa in 2021. 

Logan Kutcher (15JD) - Senior Counsel, Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) 

Logan Kutcher has served at numerous in-house positions before his time with LAFC, including stints at Dish Network and Lyft. Logan serves as both counsel to the 2022 MLS Cup Champion Los Angeles Football Club and as counsel to Southern California’s BMO Stadium as an entertainment venue business. 

While at Iowa Law, Logan was President of the Sports Law Society and had his note on Major League Baseball’s antitrust protection published in The Journal of Corporation Law Vol. 40. 

The Sports Law Society (SLS) is a student organization made up of 80+ students out of the University of Iowa’s College of Law. SLS aims to bring together students with a passion for sports, whether it be a lifetime sports fan or those with a blossoming interest in the area. It also hopes to connect students with professionals across the world of sports law, from compliance directors to legal counsel for professional sports teams and leagues, and does this through social events, their "Speaker Series," and field trips that allow students to meet and learn from some of the best and brightest in the sports landscape. Sports law may be a difficult field to break into, but SLS hopes to assist students in that endeavor in any way it can! 

Check out more on SLS and get into contact on Instagram: @uiowasls

• D. Logan Kutcher, Note, Overcoming an "Aberration": San Jose Challenges Major League Baseball's Longstanding Antitrust Exemption, 40 J. Corp. L. 233 (2014) 

Iowa Law Review 

• Joshua J. Despain, Note, From Off the Bench: The Potential Role of the U.S. Department of Education in Reforming Due Process in the NCAA, 100 Iowa L. Rev. 1285 (2015)
   
• Allen T. Paxton, Note, Trust the Process: How the NBA Can Combat Its "Tanking" Problem in Court, 104 Iowa L. Rev. 1551 (2019)
   
• Nicolas T. Corbett, Note, Changing the Game: How the United States Can Look to the European Union to Create Effective Sports Betting Legislation in a Post-PASPA World, 105 Iowa L. Rev. 2273 (2019)
   
• Kelsey F. Ridenhour, Note, Traditional Sports and Esports: The Path to Collective Bargaining, 105 Iowa L. Rev. 1857 (2020)
   
• Taylor P. Thompson, Note, Maximizing NIL Rights for College Athletes, 107 Iowa L. Rev. 1347 (2022)
   
• Dillon J. Besser, Note, The Forgotten Party in O'Bannon v. National Collegiate Athletic Association: How Non-Revenue Sports Operate in a Changing Intercollegiate Marketplace, 101 Iowa L. Rev. 2105 (2016)
   
• Dylan J. Hoggard, Note, The MLB's Sports Data Related Activities Should Be Subject to Antitrust Scrutiny: Why Potential Plaintiffs Will Not Strike Out to the Baseball Antitrust Exemption, 107 Iowa L. Rev. 1777 (2022)

Career possibilities in sports law are seemingly endless and include traditional and non-traditional legal careers. Some examples include: 

Some career paths in sports are considered non-traditional in that the jobs and employers involved may value and utilize a lawyer’s education, training and skills but not involve the practice of law or require a law license. 

The College of Law helps prepare students for successful sports law careers through: