“Monday, February 3, 2014, marked a significant day in my life,” said newly appointed Director of the Center for Sports Law & Policy Jeremy Evans ‘11. “I will be working at my alma mater as the Director of the Center for Sports Law & Policy, while still running my own law practice in sports, entertainment, and business law, and keeping fulfilled with community-based work.”
The mission of the Center for Sports Law and Policy is to integrate Thomas Jefferson School of Law with, and prepare its students for employment in, the growing sports industry. With its emphasis on professional, amateur and international sports law and policy, its location in San Diego, and its involvement with the three other centers of academic excellence at TJSL, the Center is suited to become a major force in dealing with sports law and policy issues and preparing its students for involvement in the industry.
Professor Rodney Smith has been the Director since the Center's inception. "It has been a great honor serving as Director of the Center for Sports Law and Policy, since its founding in 2011," said Professor Smith. "It has been exciting hosting major figures in the sports industry, as we have wrestled with difficult issues in a cross-disciplinary way. The greatest thrill however has been working with my colleagues and recruiting and serving our Fellows, who are being prepared to be problem-solvers and leaders in the industry."
The CLSP is committed, through hosting of conferences and preparing of whitepapers, to helping find solutions to the major problems in the sports industry. As they are engaged in the work of the Center’s mission to help find solutions to the major problems confronting the sports industry in the 21st century, students learn skills as problem-solvers. Students participate in developing whitepapers, hosting conferences, and studying sports law and policy in a curriculum specifically designed to emphasize problem-solving skills.
“From day one, I have worked with Jeremy,” said Professor Smith. “He is one of our own, a real founder in his own right. It was very clear to me that Jeremy should serve as my successor and Dean Guernsey agreed. Jeremy is wonderfully organized and fully committed to growing the Center in ways that will serve the students and the industry.”
“As the new Director, I hope to bring together the best sports minds in the country, while connecting students, the law school, and the community to the sports and entertainment industry,” said Evans. “The goal will be to find a balance between education and practical application, networking and relationship building. This is not only possible, but I believe Thomas Jefferson School of Law will continue to be the leader in developing the best sports lawyers, agents, and industry professionals. One such program that continues the Thomas Jefferson School of Law legacy in sports and entertainment law is the 4th Annual National Sports Law Negotiation Competition that is set to take place September 19-21, 2014.”
The competition focuses on current issues in the sports world and facilitates students, coaches and judges to negotiate and make decisions on these sports topics in an academic setting. The fact patterns allow students to focus on more than one area of sports law, including: contract negotiation, trading of players, salary demands, endorsement contracts, athlete and sports professionals family and personal issues, and intellectual property among others. The yearly competition is hosted by and held at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, the competition weekend includes the sports law conference, San Diego Padres game, the competition, and the opportunity to meet agents and current sports professionals and judicial officers.
