A new program at the University of Baltimore School of Law wantsto prove 'sports law' is not necessarily synonymous with 'sportsagent.' It can also mean helping a university comply with anoversight agency's regulations, providing counsel to a pro team orensuring an Olympian's constitutional rights are not violated by adrug test.
'There are many other opportunities to work in this industrybesides negotiating a multimillion-dollar contract for Ray Lewis,'said Dionne L. Koller, University of Baltimore School of Lawprofessor and director of the school's new Institute for Sports andthe Law.
The institute, announced last week during the law school'sinaugural sports law symposium, is one of a handful in the countryand the only one partnered with professional teams -- in this case,the Baltimore Orioles and Baltimore Ravens, school officials said.That relationship is important because it will provide students withreal-world examples of what they learn in class, said Koller.
'We're not talking about the way it should be done, we're talkingwith people who do it every day,' she said.
University of Baltimore School of Law Dean Phillip J. Closiussaid the Orioles have agreed to take one law student as an interneach semester, and the Ravens are looking into offering a similarinternship. The teams also will provide speakers for classes andsymposia.
At last week's symposium, Ravens' President Dick Cass gave thekeynote address, which focused on the economic realities of aNational Football League player. Pat Moriarty, vice president offootball administration and 2008 UB law graduate, took part in asession on the salary cap. He was joined at the symposium by sportsagents and fellow alumni Tony Agnone, Tom Condon, Edward Johnson andIra Rainess.
Agnone, Condon, Moriarty and Rainess will serve on the newinstitute's advisory board.
'Logical fit'
The school's sports law connections, not to mention the factOrioles owner Peter G. Angelos is also an alumnus, made theinstitute a 'logical fit,' Closius said.
The institute has a personal connection for Closius and Koller aswell. Closius represented several NFL players in contractnegotiations in the early- to mid-1980s while at the University ofToledo College of Law and has taught sports law for years. Kollerhas taught sports law at UB the past three years, writtenextensively about doping policies in amateur sports and representedOlympic athletes.
Plans for the institute include two annual sports symposia, aprofessional-themed one in the spring and an amateur one in thefall. Additional sports law-related classes on topics such as laborrelations could be added to the curriculum as early as next spring,although Closius said fall 2010 is more likely.
Koller said she wants to tap into the wealth of sports lawexperience among the school's adjunct faculty. For example, Agnone,an NFL agent for 30 years, could teach a class on negotiation, shesaid. And Rainess, who represents Lewis, spoke at last week'ssymposium about his client's public/private development projects inBaltimore.
'That's truly a cutting-edge thing,' Koller said of the projects.'The legal issues involved with that are interesting andunexplored.'
