The Sport Law concentration is available to all online Master of Science in Sport Management students who want to learn more about the laws that govern numerous aspects of the sport industry. The courses, taught in collaboration with faculty from UF’s esteemed Levin College of Law, further students’ understanding of legal principles that many sport management professionals encounter in their work. This specialization is especially beneficial to students, including lawyers and collegiate compliance officers, whose current work or future career paths may require advanced knowledge of or familiarity with sport law.
Students in this specialization are required to complete 9 credit hours of coursework that can be used to satisfy a portion of the program’s 15 credit hour elective requirement. They must complete 6 additional elective credit hours to satisfy the elective course requirement for the degree program. The Sport Law courses can also be taken as electives by students outside of the specialization.
Since sport and business frequently go hand in hand, students in the Sport Law specialization will learn about laws, regulations, and judicial decisions that both govern business, in general, and frequently apply to the activities of sport businesses and players. General business knowledge covered in this specialization includes real estate finance, insurance, and mergers and acquisitions. An entire course is devoted to the subject of fair competition, which encompasses antitrust, intellectual property, consumer protection, and data privacy laws. Students in this specialization also will explore legal principles including contractual relationships, agency representation, and liability for wrongful conduct.
Sport Law Courses (9 credits):
This course is designed to further student understanding of foundational legal principles in the field of sport management, especially those principles governing contractual relationships, agency representations, and liability for wrongful conduct. Course objectives:
- To further student understanding of the role of contracts in sport management
- To further student understanding of the principles of contract formation and enforcement
- To train students to read and understand the types of contract commonly used in the field of sport management
- To train students about the legal duties of agents as fiduciaries
- To further student understanding of the principles governing the formation and operation of agency relationships
- To further student understanding of the types of tort liability and defenses to tort liability that may arise in the sport management field
- To further student understanding of how negligence principles operate in different settings in the sports management field
- To introduce students to intentional torts such as commercial misappropriation of name or likeness that may arise in the sport management field.
- To provide a comprehensive overview of how the laws of contracts, torts, and agency affect sports management.
Pre-requisite: SPM6723 Issues in Sport Law or equivalent experience.
This subject is an intensive introduction to the law of antitrust, intellectual property, and consumer protection and data privacy. Antitrust focuses typically on monopolization and other “restraints of trade”. We will focus on: joint ventures, sports leagues, and the NCAA. The course also focuses on copyrights, provides a brief look at trademarks and trade secrets, presents comparisons of what can and cannot be protected, and what rights the owner does and does not obtain. The course will examine the legal implications of technological options to collect and commercialize personal data. Course objectives:
- To further student understanding of the role of antitrust, intellectual property, consumer protection, and data privacy in sport management.
- To increase student awareness of current legal issues and emerging legal in antitrust, intellectual property, consumer protection, and data privacy trends in sport.
- To learn to think critically and analytically about the intersection between the law and technology as it relates to monetization of sports businesses.
- To examine the role of antitrust and labor laws in the professional sport industry.
- To provide an understanding of the basic principles of legal risk management.
Download SPM 6905 Fair Competition in Sport Syllabus
Law governs many aspects of business. An understanding of legal rules provides a framework for making sound business decisions and facilitates commercial transactions. The course will cover: Starting a business (entity choice); Real estate finance, zoning; Insurance; Structuring compensation; Tax planning/wealth management; and Post sports career investment (M&A due diligence, franchising, etc.). Course objectives:
- To improve analytical problem solving and ethical decision making skills.
- To apply knowledge and skills to address and manage potential problems before they become actual, expensive problems.
- To evaluate expert advice and determine the extent to which it should be incorporated into business decisions.
- To provide a general understanding of the major legal issues that impact the business environment for sports businesses and sports players.
- To provide knowledge of specific basic laws which affect business structure and finance.
Advisor Approved Electives (6 credits)
