This seminar will survey a range of legal issues presented by sports in America. There are no pre-requisites. However, students should be prepared to learn basic principles of antitrust law and labor law and how these principles have influenced the regulation of professional sports franchises and leagues and the relationship between players and owners. Intellectual property law, tort law, and agency law, as applied in the professional sports context will also be studied and applied. Topics will include the legal, contractual, and economic relationship between professional sports franchises and the sports and entertainment venues in which they play, and the ownership of athlete identity and its utilization by athletes, teams, sponsors, and equipment manufacturers. The course will also focus upon the negotiation of significant contracts that govern the relationship between stakeholders in the sports industry, such as venue leases, naming rights agreements, sponsorships, and athlete endorsement agreements. Grades will be based on contract interpretation exercises and writing, an advocacy writing and oral class participation. There is no examination. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may not be used to satisfy the requirement. OFFERING PATTERN: This class not offered every year. Students are advised to take this into account when planning their long-term schedule. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

Note that this information may change at any time. Please visit the MyBU Student Portal for the most up-to-date course information.