(U-WIRE) STANFORD, Calif. – In order to develop relationships with Stanford University athletes making the transition to professional sports, the Stanford Entertainment and Sports Law Association, or SESLA, held a pair of roundtable discussions last Friday on NCAA compliance and mid-market sports.

“We had hoped to begin forging a relationship with [Stanford athletes] with our program,” said law student Seth Graham, the association’s president.

To achieve this goal, SESLA invited National Football League agent Stephen Baker to sit on one of the panels. Graham, said Baker, “is a very popular agent with graduating Stanford athletes.”

Other participants included Stanford Athletic Director Ted Leland; Deputy Commissioner and General Counselor of the National Lacrosse League George Daniel; and the President and General Manager of the San Jose Earthquakes Major League Soccer team Alexis Lalas.

The first discussion addressed the growing trend of players leaving college early for professional careers and the pros and cons of such a decision. The group explored what the trend means in terms of player quality at both the collegiate and professional levels.

The second talk focused on player compensation in mid-market sports and what will happen as the sports gain higher status and salaries begin to rise.

Though practice schedules prevented a number of athletes from attending the discussion, the smaller turnout did not dash Graham’s hopes for networking.

“In the future, we hope to offer programming opportunities to athletes which will tell them a little more about the sports market, their individual rights as athletes, put them in touch with agents and provide general support,” he said.

SESLA was re-chartered this year by a group of first-year students at Stanford Law School. A student-run organization, it seeks to provide career advice and a community for students interested in entertainment and sports industry careers. It already has more than 50 members, with a core group of around 15 full-time, first-year students.

Though the group has received occasional assistance from law professors, the students do all the work of developing relationships with industry professionals, structuring their programming efforts and investigating topics of common concern.

Despite the fact that the law school does not currently have any classes focused on sports law, there are classes in labor law, negotiations and contract law, which all provide necessary background for sports law.

SESLA is currently planning to lobby for the addition of a sports and entertainment law seminar.

Graham said that most people have a limited idea of what sports law includes. If one takes the narrow view of sports law as nothing but the representation of athletes, he admitted that “there are relatively few positions in the industry.”

The broader view includes all those who work in sports organizations, those that work for financial organizations who fund and sponsor sports franchises, those that work with colleges and universities advising their athletes and those who hold jobs in governing organizations such as the NCAA, MLB or NFL.

When one takes the more inclusive view, “there are quite a few jobs out there and options for someone hoping to practice sports law,” Graham said.

Though there are currently no undergraduates that are formal members of SESLA, Graham said that the organization is very interested in becoming more involved in the undergraduate Stanford community.

“SESLA would like to get involved in some manner with the Stanford community in planning events, working toward making industry contacts and in sharing interests and points of view on topics included under our umbrella of interests,” Graham said.

-By Bob Borek