COLLEGE SPORTS LAW: Practices & Services

The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm offers you over 25 years of collective intercollegiate athletics, interscholastic athletics, legal, consulting and investigation experience. In fact, our college sports team includes a licensed attorney, a licensed private investigator, a former athletics administrator and the author of Athletics Investigation Handbook: A Guide for Institutions and Involved Parties During the NCAA Enforcement Process. We will leverage our knowledge to provide an effective and efficient solution to a college or university athletics-related issue.

High-Profile Athletes and Third-Party Suite of Services

CLICK HERE to find out about the Michael L. Buckner Law Firm's suite of services designed to proactively identify, monitor, audit and investigate issues involving high-profile athletes and third-parties.

Enforcement and Athletics Investigations

The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm’s immense knowledge of athletics enforcement processes is available for your institution if it is confronted with allegations of NCAA, NAIA, NCJAA and interscholastic athletics rules-violations. We specialize in solving your institution’s athletics enforcement issues in a cost-effective and practical manner. Our expert approach in NCAA, NAIA, NCJAA and interscholastic athletics enforcement investigation and crisis management matters enables campus and athletics administrators to focus on their daily duties and responsibilities. Further, we represent clients before the NCAA committees on infractions and infractions appeal committees. We also have experience in auditing and investigating high-school academic credentials and procedures. Team members have represented clients in the following matters:

Provided a national collegiate sports regulatory organization with the following services: conducting investigative audits of non-traditional secondary (high) schools; and reporting to the organization as to the existence of a valid program for educational instruction and advancement at each identified secondary school, including verification of the school’s claimed accreditation and the existence and fulfillment of reasonable accreditation standards.
Represented a NCAA Division I institution during the NCAA enforcement process (including an internal investigation involving numerous sports programs). Further, conducted a comprehensive NCAA initial- and continuing-eligibility audit of all student-athletes files during the 1999-2000 through 2002-03 academic years.
Represented a NCAA Division I institution during the NCAA enforcement process (including an internal investigation involving numerous sports programs) and provided consulting advice on revisions to the institution’s (including the athletics department’s) operations, structure, policies, and procedures. Further, conducted a comprehensive initial- and continuing-eligibility audit of all student-athletes files during the 1998-99 through 2003-04 academic years. Finally, represented the institution before the Committee on Infractions.
Advised a NCAA Division I institution with identifying opportunities for process improvement in the athletics department’s operations, structure, policies, and procedures.
Advised (ongoing project) a NCAA Division I institution with identifying opportunities for process improvement in the athletics department’s policies and procedures.
Conducted a NCAA enforcement sanctions verification audit for a NCAA Division I institution.
Conducted a compliance review for a NCAA Division I institution.
Represented a NCAA Division I institution before the Committee on Infractions, conducted an internal investigation involving its men’s basketball program, and provided consulting advice on revisions to the athletics department’s operations, structure, policies, and procedures.
Represented a NAIA institution involving an appeal of the NAIA’s suspension of the client’s men’s basketball program.
Advised and assisted a NCAA Division III institution with issues involving NCAA transfer and eligibility legislation.
Represented a NCAA Division I institution before the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement in a case involving an international men’s basketball student-athlete.
Advised and assisted a NCAA Division I institution in preparing a student-athlete reinstatement appeal brief in a case involving men’s basketball student-athletes.
Assisted a NCAA Division I institution with the resolution of legal issues pertaining to the termination of a coaching employment relationship and provided consulting advice on the structuring of future coaches’ employment agreements.
Advised and assisted a NCAA Division I institution in the preparation of a student-athlete reinstatement appeal brief in a case involving a football student-athlete.

Compliance and Ethics

The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm is available to assist you with developing proactive solutions to address your athletics department’s most pressing compliance and ethics needs. In particular, our experienced professionals can support athletics departments with complying with NCAA, NAIA and NCJAA regulations by evaluating your organization’s operations and processes, as well as developing effective compliance and ethics systems. A prominent member of our team is Michael L. Buckner, Esquire, who is a national compliance and ethics trainer and the author of the book, The ABCs of Ethics: A Resource for Leaders, Managers, and Professionals. For example, we:

Conduct comprehensive compliance audits and reviews.
Design compliance and ethics programs, policies and procedures.
Prepare compliance manuals.
Perform due-diligence reviews.
Assist organizations with developing codes of ethics.
Lead process improvement projects.
Conduct innovative education and training workshops on compliance and ethics issues and topics.
Provide coaching services for compliance and ethics officers.

Athletics Certification

The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm aids colleges and universities with ensuring compliance with NCAA Division I athletics certification operating principles and measurable standards. Specifically, we offer NCAA member institutions the following services:

Conduct a pre-athletics certification assessment, which analyzes an institution’s written policies, procedures and processes to determine whether the institution fulfills athletics certification (Cycle 3) principles and standards.
Assist an institution with responding to a “summary of actions” or other requests from the NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification, peer-review team or athletics certification staff.
Provide consultation to, and guidance for, an institution during the athletics certification process.

Athletics Department Operational Reviews

The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm’s athletics department operational review service is a top-down evaluation of an athletics program that assists administrators with evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the athletics program based on 14 key components. Our operational reviews, which are conducted by a two-person team, consist of four phases: pre-visit assessment (which includes a questionnaire, a request for documents and research); online survey; four-day campus visit (which includes interviews, a student-athlete group discussion, document review and an athletics facilities tour); and post-visit assessment (which includes the report preparation and submission).

Governance, Leadership and Teamwork

A well-managed athletics department possesses a solid foundation of institutional control policies and procedures, as well as an environment that cultivates visionary leadership and teamwork. The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm works with you to ensure that your organization can deal effectively with any institutional control, leadership and teamwork issues that may arise. Our team includes an attorney who is a trainer on institutional control, leadership and teamwork issues. We are available to provide you with the following institutional control, leadership, and teamwork services:

Design or revise an athletics program’s institutional control policies and systems.
Lead process improvement projects.
Conduct education and training workshops on leadership and teamwork.
Provide coaching services for managers, administrators, and other leaders.
Lead team building programs and exercises.
Provide diversity education and training.

Professional Development and Rules-Education

The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm can work with you to develop and conduct education and training seminars and workshops that produce measurable and dramatic results for an athletics department. Our advisors will analyze your department to produce creative presentations and materials that are informative and useful. For example, our professionals have provided or developed seminars and workshops in a variety of areas and topics, including:

Academic-fraud.
NCAA rules-compliance.
Ethics.
Internal investigation techniques.
Leadership and teamwork.
Process improvement.
Teaching and coaching techniques and strategies for college professionals.
Diversity education and training.

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Ethics, Internal Investigations, Education Law, College Sports Law , and High School Sports Law

Michael L. Buckner Law Firm

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