Sports law is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses a wide range of practice areas. Iowa’s faculty brings industry experience to the study of sports law, providing authentic experiential learning opportunities to students in the classroom. By combining those experiences in sports law courses with the training students receive in Iowa Law’s renowned writing program, the opportunity to write on sports law topics for Iowa Law’s several journals, and an abundance of co-curricular and extracurricular opportunities to further explore the sports industry, Iowa Law students can position themselves well for careers in sports while preparing for any practice area.

 

Curriculum Guide

Sports law brings together many areas of the law that can be applied to sports issues and clients. Iowa Law offers a variety of courses and experiential opportunities that will help students develop foundational knowledge across a spectrum of legal topics that comprise the field of sports law. 

The faculty who teach in this area specialize in topics such as contract negotiation and drafting, antitrust law, labor and employment, trademark and copyright law, and many other matters that have application in the world of sports. They publish their research in prominent academic journals and popular media outlets and have presented at conferences around the world. 

Iowa Law provides many experiential learning opportunities in the field of sports law, including the National College Athletics Infractions Hearing Competition. This competition offers students an opportunity to gain insights into the NCAA's regulations and their practical application within the context of the formal hearing process utilized by the NCAA Committee on Infractions to adjudicate allegations of major rules violations. Participating students present their skills before judges with expertise in sports law, college athletics, and compliance. 

Other experiential opportunities include courses in topics such as "Sports Law”, “Baseball Salary Arbitration”, and “College Athletic Infractions Process”. Through these courses, students engage with legal processes and issues in the world of sports, while learning from faculty with experience in the sports industry.

Dropdowns

  • Sports Law (LAW: 8879)
    •  Study of legal issues shaping intercollegiate athletics and professional sports through simulation experiences. Short writing assignments. Topics include labor law and collective bargaining in pro sports, antitrust law as applied to intercollegiate athletics, the NCAA enforcement process, representation of professional athletes and negotiation of sports contracts, legal challenges to the NCAA principle of amateurism, gender equity, and more. Students will negotiate an NFL free-agent contract and the MLB collective bargaining agreement, engage in a mock MLB salary arbitration hearing and mock appellate arguments in NCAA pay-for-play litigation, and investigate and present a mock NCAA infractions case.

       

  • Baseball Salary Arbitration (LAW: 8880)
    • This course will teach students about the MLB salary arbitration process that sports agents, attorneys and team executives participate in and that is presided over by panels of lawyer arbitrators. Students will develop written and oral advocacy skills while participating in mock salary arbitration hearings that will result in three students being chosen to represent the University of Iowa College of Law at the Tulane University Law School International Baseball Arbitration Competition in mid-January. (Learn more about the competition here: https://law.tulane.edu/academics/sports/baseball-arbitration) This course provides 1 experiential unit per each credit hour for the College of Law JD degree.

       

  • College Athletics Infractions Process (LAW: 8881)
    • This course is moot court competition involving college athletics rules violations. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) processes major rules infractions (e.g., recruiting violations) through a hearing process that is similar to an administrative law proceeding. This course will teach students about the NCAA infractions process, and students will participate in mock hearings. All students will complete a 1-credit course in the fall that will provide two intramural mock hearing experiences, including drafting of an institutional reply to a Notice of Allegations and an NCAA enforcement staff reply that follows a Notice of Allegations. All credits will apply toward the College of Law’s experiential requirements.

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

  • Antitrust Law 

  • Employment Law 

  • Labor Law 

  • Business Associations 

  • Private Companies 

  • Arbitration Principles and Practice 

  • Introduction to Intellectual Property 

  • Licensing 

  • Copyrights 

  • Trademarks and Unfair Competition Law 

  • Immigration Law and Policy 

  • Negotiations 

  • Interest-Based Negotiation for Lawyers 

  • Real Estate Transactions 

  • Compliance, Ethics, and Risk Management 

  • Higher Education and the Law 

  • Media Law 

  • Principles of Contract Drafting 

  • Contract Drafting Boot Camp 

College Athletics Infractions Hearing Competition 

  • A new nationwide competition hosted by The University of Iowa, this competition closely simulates the formal hearing process utilized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Committee on Infractions (COI) to adjudicate allegations of major rules violations. The competition is co-hosted (fully online with no travel required) by The University of Iowa’s College of Law and the Sport and Recreation Management program in Iowa’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. 

  • Based on the fact pattern used in the College Athletics Infractions Process course (LAW: 8881), Iowa's unique competition offers students in law and/or other graduate school disciplines an opportunity to gain insights into the NCAA's regulations and their practical application within this quasi-legal context. Moreover, participants will engage in a nationwide competition, presenting their skills before judges with expertise in sports law, college athletics, and compliance. Finally, students will receive judge feedback and network with judges to support professional development. 

  • Read more about the competition and how it works here. 

International Baseball Arbitration Competition hosted by Tulane Law School 

  • The Tulane International Baseball Arbitration Competition (TIBAC), run by the Tulane Sports Law Society, is a simulated salary arbitration competition modeled closely on the procedures used by Major League Baseball (MLB). Like most law school moot court competitions, TIBAC’s main goal is to provide participants with the opportunity to sharpen their oral and written advocacy skills. However, the competition is unique in that it allows law students to sharpen these skills within the specialized context of MLB's salary arbitration proceedings. The competition is held annually in the early part of the spring academic semester at Tulane University Law School. Additionally, Tulane’s Sports Law Society hosts a panel of experts to discuss legal issues related to baseball. 

  • Students from Iowa Law who will participate in this competition will be chosen based on their performance in the Baseball Salary Arbitration course (LAW: 8880). 

  • Read more about the TIBAC here. 

Iowa Law Success in Sports Law Competitions: 

2021 TIBAC 

  • Written Competition Winner: Iowa Law, team of Kelly Ferree and Thomas Hafen 

2022 TIBAC 

  • Arbitration Hearing Competition Runners-Up: Iowa Law, team of Peter Sotos, Andrew Ascher, and Lucas Sczygelski 

2023 National College Athletics Infractions Hearing Competition 

  • Written Competition Winner: Iowa Law, team of Rebekah Birch and Avery Brown 

  • Infractions Hearing Competition Runners-Up: Iowa Law, team of Rebekah Birch and Avery Brown 

  • Infractions Hearing Competition Semifinalists: Iowa Law, team of Ethan Dunn, Jack Schelhaas, and Elias Wunderlich 

2024 TIBAC 

  • Written Competition Winner: Iowa Law, team of Tyson Williams, Yousef Chamas, and Jude Jaber 

  • Arbitration Hearing Competition Quarterfinalists: Iowa Law, team of Ethan Dunn, Jack Schelhaas, and Elias Wunderlich 

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

Sports Lawyers Association Writing Competition Winners 

Journal of Corporation Law 

Frequently Asked Questions

Dropdown questions

Sports law is the application of any area of law to sport issues and clients. Contract law, antitrust law, labor law, employment law, trademark and copyright law and many other areas of the law have application in the world of sports. Sports lawyers are often specialists in one or a few areas of the law who have clients in the sports world or generalists who are employed in-house by a sport organization.

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

  • Attorney in private practice representing sports clients (e.g., teams, leagues, athletes, college athletics departments and conferences, apparel and equipment brands, broadcast networks, etc.) 

  • Sports agent representing athletes in the signing of playing contracts and off-field marketing and business agreements and advising athletes on career decisions 

  • Attorney working as in-house counsel for a professional or amateur team, league, or Olympic sport governing body 

  • University general counsel with an athletics department on campus 

  • Attorney working as in-house counsel for a corporation that owns sports entities 

  • NCAA enforcement 

  • Team general manager 

  • College athletics director 

  • Attorney representing college athletes in name, image and likeness deals and college athletes, coaches and schools involved in NCAA infractions matters 

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: 

  • A highly ranked, well-rounded legal education that makes students competitive for jobs at top firms nationwide and in the industry upon graduation 

  • Several sports law electives that can be taken in the second and third years that give students the opportunity to learn about different areas of the law as applied to sports 

  • Mentoring from faculty with sports industry experience 

  • Opportunities to join sports law competition teams that are coached by faculty and represent Iowa Law nationally in competitions judged by sports lawyers 

  • Access to a network of Iowa Law alumni working in a variety of sports law and industry jobs 

  • Opportunities to learn from and meet guest speakers from the sports industry 

There are many ways to get involved in sports law at Iowa: join the student-run sports law society, form sports law competition teams for national competitions, enroll in elective sports law courses, write a student note on an area of sports law for submission to a law journal, work as a research assistant for Professor Matheson, and much more. 

Faculty

Dan Matheson

Daniel Matheson

  • Adjunct Faculty member, College of Law 

  • Professor of Instruction, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 

  • Program Director, Sport and Recreation Management, Department of Health and Human Physiology 

  • Email: daniel-matheson@uiowa.edu 

  • Phone: 319-335-9485

Since joining the Iowa faculty in 2011, Professor Matheson has dedicated himself to teaching sports law and sports management by developing innovative learning environments that allow for simulation of experiences students will have in their careers. In doing so, he relies heavily on his 15 years of industry experience, during which he served as Director of Baseball Operations for the New York Yankees and as Associate Director of Enforcement for the NCAA. He was recognized as the Dean's Distinguished Lecturer in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2017; in 2016, he received the University of Iowa’s highest teaching honor, the President and Provost Award for Teaching Excellence. 

Professor Matheson has contributed more than a dozen articles on college athletics issues to CollegeAD.com and SportsLitigationAlert.com and is frequently asked to provide expert insights during media coverage of sports industry news through such outlets as ESPN, the New York Times, PBS, and SiriusXM. He served on Iowa’s Presidential Committee on Athletics from 2016-21, including two years as chair, and remains active in the industry by consulting with law firms, universities, and individuals navigating NCAA infractions matters. In 2023, he was recognized by SportsLawExpert.com as one of 30 expert witnesses who can serve as testifying or examining experts in legal cases and as resources for the media. He is an active member in the Sports Lawyers Association. 

Professor Matheson created and serves as competition organizer for the National College Athletics Infractions Hearing Competition, co-hosted by the College of Law, that annually brings together students from across the country to sharpen their written and oral advocacy skills in front of more than 20 attorneys with expertise in college sports. As name, image, and likeness rights issues for college athletes transform the college athletics industry, Professor Matheson has become a leading voice on NIL matters in various forums and will launch an interdisciplinary NIL experiential learning course in spring 2025 that will be accessible to Iowa Law students.