BRIEFING: COVID-19 Collegiate Athletics Update

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The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the collegiate athletics landscape. Entire athletic seasons have been lost, tournaments and championships have been canceled, and the ability of student athletes to gather and practice has been curtailed. College and university attorneys are examining the novel legal issues and practical challenges raised by the sudden changes forced by the pandemic as well as planning for an eventual restart of athletics programs. Please join us for a NACUA Briefing with Scott Bearby, Vice President of Legal Affairs & General Counsel at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); Patrick Dunkley, Senior University Counsel and Deputy Athletics Director at Stanford University; and Janet Judge, Partner at Holland & Knight LLP, who will walk through the unique need-to-know issues during this challenging time. They will address key legal and practical considerations in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the role of counsel in advising athletics operations, NCAA rules compliance and updates, coach and athletics staff employment considerations, and ongoing Title IX equity and non-discrimination obligations.

This 30-minute briefing will be audio-only and will be complimentary to NACUA members.

Contributors

Scott Bearby

Scott Bearby was appointed National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) general counsel in January 2013 after serving in various legal positions at the national headquarters since January 1999. As general counsel, Scott has day-to-day management of the NCAA Office of Legal Affairs and its staff. The department handles legal responsibilities for the national association, supporting its governance and sport committees, 90 championships, and its national office staff assisting the membership and student-athletes. The Office of Legal Affairs also manages litigation involving the national association and houses the enterprise risk management function. Scott added responsibilities as an NCAA vice president in September 2016. Prior to becoming vice president of legal affairs and general counsel, Scott spent much of his career at the NCAA focusing on media, intellectual property, and championship matters. He was lead NCAA inside counsel for all of the NCAA's television, digital and other multi-media agreements for the Division I Men's Basketball Championship and other NCAA championships since 1999. Bearby was a subcommittee chair with the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee and has been active with the Indianapolis Sports and Entertainment Bar Association. He was an adjunct professor at Indiana University's McKinney School of Law (Indianapolis) for eight years. Bearby graduated in 1988 from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in government, and received his J.D. from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law (Bloomington) in 1992. He was in private practice for six years before joining the NCAA. Bearby also is a former Indiana Governor's Fellow.
Patrick Dunkley

Patrick Dunkley oversees human resources, legal affairs and NCAA compliance and risk management. Dunkley is also the sport administrator for indoor and outdoor track and field, cross-country, baseball, and is the secondary administrator for men’s basketball. Dunkley joined the athletics staff after nearly a decade of serving Stanford as a member of the Office of the General Counsel. During his time in the legal office Dunkley became intimately involved in the activities of the athletics department, serving as its legal counsel. Dunkley was selected by Provost John Etchemendy to serve as interim athletic director in 2012. Prior to his arrival at Stanford, Dunkley was a vice president in the legal department at Charles Schwab in San Francisco. He spent the first 10 years of his legal career as an associate and partner at Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw, Pittman. Before he began his legal career, Dunkley was a certified public accountant for eight years, including several years at a national accounting firm. Dunkley is a member of the board of directors of two charter entities and East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring. Dunkley graduated with a degree in business administration from San Jose State in 1982 and earned his law degree from Santa Clara in 1990. Patrick and his wife, Helen, have two daughters, Rachel and Gelila. He enjoys spending time with his family, working out, attending sporting events, and reading.
Janet Judge

Janet P. Judge is a Partner with the Education & Sports Law Group, LLC. An active association member since 2004, Janet currently serves on the on the NACUA Board and the Committee on Programming for the Annual Conference. She has presented, moderated, and led group discussions at more than 25 NACUA events, is an instructor for NACUA’s Title IX Coordinators Training, and co-presented NACUA’s briefing on Title IX and Challenges to Sex-Based Scholarships.

A three-time Lawyer of the Year (Sports), including in 2022 (Boston), Janet is the co-author of the NCAA Manual on Gender Equity, and a contributing author of the NCAA’s Toolkit on Sexual Violence, and HazingPrevention.Org’s A Coach’s Guide to Hazing Prevention, She also serves on the Board of Directors for HazingPrevention.Org and is a member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine’s Task Force on Sexual Violence and Harassment in Sport. Janet formerly served on the Board for USA Ultimate, as Vice Chair of the Visiting Committee to Oversee Harvard Athletics, and as an appointed member of the Special Independent Commission on Title IX Resources and Programs for the University of Tennessee.

Janet is a graduate of Harvard College and Boston University School of Law, a former three-sport Division 1 student-athlete, sports administrator, and two-sport college coach. Following law school, Janet clerked for Judge Stahl on the First Circuit Court of Appeals. She is a former recipient of NACUA’s First Decade Award.