cgpbadgeWilliam Nix, Industry Advisor and Professor in the Straus Institute's Entertainment, Media and Sports Dispute Resolution Project (EMS-Straus), served as an advisor in the planning and production of a Pepperdine Law Review national sports industry symposium entitled The New Normal in College Sports that was held at Pepperdine Law School on April 5, 2013.

The symposium consisted of four panel discussions with leading academics, university leaders and practitioners in a variety of areas including: a conversation with institutional leaders of major intercollegiate athletic programs; a consideration of the possibility of an antitrust exemption for the NCAA®; the impact of conference realignment, digital media, broadcasting and commercialization; and other emerging topics in college sports.

normalsportsPanelists included:  Roger Cossack, ESPN Legal Analyst & Pepperdine University School of Law Distinguished Visiting Professor; Judge Ken Starr, President, Baylor University; Britt Banowsky, Conference Commissioner;Steve Potts, Athletic Director, Pepperdine University; Dave Roberts, Vice President for Compliance, USC; Maureen Weston, Professor of Law and Faculty Director of EMS@Straus, Pepperdine University School of Law; Daniel E. Lazaroff, Professor of Law and Director, Loyola Sports Law Institute at Loyola Law School; Gabe Feldman, Associate Professor, Tulane Law School; Director, Tulane Sports Law Program; and Associate Provost for NCAA Compliance; Jeffrey Standen, Professor, Willamette University; Michael McCann, Director of the Sports Law Institute and Professor of Law, Vermont Law School; Professor Ed Larson, Professor of Law, Pepperdine University School of Law; Matt Mitten, Professor of Law and Director, National Sports Law Institute, Marquette University Law School; Rod Smith, Director of Sports Law & Professor of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law; Brian Halloran, NCAA Perspective; Andrew Brandt, NFL Business Analyst, ESPN; Columnist for ESPN.com; Director, Moorad Center for Sports Law at Villanova Law School; and Co-Founder, The National Football Post; Brian Marler, Director, Houlihan Lokey; Babette E. Boliek, Associate Professor of Law, Pepperdine University School of Law; and  Mark Fainaru-Wada, Reporter, ESPN Investigations/Enterprise