Ben Stockman was interviewed by Bloomberg Law on lawyers who become athletic directors. The following is an excerpt.
The fast-changing face of US college sports, with its expanding docket of rulings, lawsuits, and name, image, and likeness deals that allow players to profit from their athletic prowess, often has Cunningham wishing for simpler times.
But Cunningham, the University of Notre Dame’s Peter Bevacqua, and other college athletic administrators are adapting as antitrust litigation settlements and other cases create a new market, one that will permit schools to directly compensate their athletes for the first time unless Congress intervenes by July 1.
“The trend over the past 10 to 15 years clearly has been toward professionalization of college athletics,” said Venable’s Benjamin Stockman, a new co-leader of the firm’s sports practice. “It’s no wonder schools are hiring lawyers into AD positions—what they really need is an entire law firm to handle the legal demands put on athletic departments.”
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