Covering the Intersection of Sports and the Law
1. Although college coaches are essentially free to move from school to school (often with the payment of a buyout provision, or some portion thereof), student-athletes remain hamstrung by NCAA transfer rules, which limit their athletic opportunities. Starting with the 2011 stories involving Todd O’Brien, Brock Berglund and Danny O’Brien, CT Sports Law examined NCAA transfer rules […]
NCAA transfer rules are in dire need of an overhaul. Last year, the problems with the NCAA’s transfer rules were revealed to the public by way of a few high-profile cases: Todd O’Brien, a basketball player was denied a final year of eligibility after St. Joseph’s refused to provide him with a waiver to compete at UAB […]
In what ESPN’s Mike Greenberg described as “another outrage in the NCAA,” Florida International University (FIU) has denied basketball player Dominque Ferguson permission to contact other schools regarding a potential transfer. Ferguson reportedly appealed the denial, but his appeal was unsuccessful. Ferguson sought to leave FIU for a number of reasons, including the departure of his coach, […]
Last week in my sports law class at Quinnipiac Law School, we discussed the state of collegiate coaching contracts. I began the class by sharing one of my favorite quotes on the topic. In 2009, Jim Harbaugh, then coach of Stanford University, discussed his new contract extension with the university. When asked if the contract […]
Legal Issues in Collegiate Athletics recently featured my article on Gunner Kiel and verbal commitments in the recruiting process. (Click on the following link to view the article in PDF: Gunner Kiel Demonstrates that Verbal Commitments Are Not Binding). I have also posted the article below. My sincere thanks to Holt Hackney, publisher of Legal Issues in Collegiate […]
Gunner Kiel, the top rated pro-style quarterback in high school football, made news last week when we decided to attend the University of Notre Dame, instead of Louisiana State University. It was the second time that Kiel changed his mind concerning his choice of school. Kiel originally provided a verbal commitment to Indiana, before switching to […]
Following St. Joseph’s well-publicized refusal to provide former basketball player Todd O’Brien with a release to play at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, another situation has arose in which a college inexplicably refuses to provide a release to a student-athlete seeking a transfer. The student-athlete in question is Brock Berglund, a quarterback at the University of Kansas. Berglund […]
NCAA Reforms Discussed Christian Dennie of the College Sports Law Blog has posted an excellent summary of the issues discussed at the recent NCAA Convention held in Indianapolis, covering items such as multiyear scholarships, the $2,000 stipend and the “Cam Newton Loophole.” Kansas, Weis and another Transfer Dispute In the wake of the Todd O’Brien case, […]
