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A Fishers-based law firm that’s made a name for itself in college sports compliance is gearing up for big changes as federal lawmakers weigh sweeping reforms to how athletes are paid and how competition is governed.
Church Church Hittle and Antrim, a multi-disciplinary firm, has been active in collegiate sports law since 2014. It’s spent most of that time focused on student-athlete compliance cases, disciplinary matters and, more recently, the evolving nature of compensation within college athletics.
But attorneys within the practice say its work could shift—and in some ways grow—because of two bills making their way through Congress, each of which aim to substantially change how college sports is governed.
One is the Student Athlete Fairness and Enforcement Act, or SAFE Act, introduced Sept. 29 by U.S. Senate Democrats.
The second is the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements Act, or SCORE Act. It was drafted over the summer by a bipartisan contingent in the U.S. House of Representatives, but it’s largely a Republican-supported bill.
The bills include provisions meant to put guardrails on what some experts say has become a Wild West, with states, conferences and schools varying in their interpretation and deployment of what the Indianapolis-based NCAA permits.
While Church Church Hittle and Atrium is already often enlisted to help navigate those situations, any framework approved at a federal level would go a long way in aiding that work, said Kelleigh Irwin Fagan, one of the sports practice’s founding partners.
That’s because many states have their own laws related to athlete compensation and record-keeping for investigations at educational institutions, even in athletic departments.
“It would definitely bring certainty, in having the weight of federal law to preempt some of these different state laws that may conflict,” she said. “What most people in collegiate athletics, I think, still feel frustration over is that not everybody’s working from the same set of rules. [Federal legislation] would really help to solve some of that uncertainty.”
The firm did not disclose the identities of its clients, but Fagan said the list has historically included multiple Indiana schools.
Big growth
Fagan started the firm’s sports law practice in 2014 alongside Julie Roe Lach, the outgoing commissioner of the Indianapolis-based Horizon League collegiate athletics conference. That was well before the NCAA began allowing student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness—commonly called NIL.
The practice now has 10 full-time attorneys, while Lach now works as an of counsel attorney for the firm. The attorneys work directly with athletes and schools on cases ranging from rule infractions like improper benefits, hazing or inadequate academic progress, to internal investigations following allegations against athletes, administrators, coaches or other staff.
While universities typically have an athletics compliance officer or team that acts as a clearinghouse for its sports teams, problems sometimes slip through the cracks. Church Church Hittle and Antrim offers assessments and training for student-athletes and team and university personnel on how to meet compliance rules.
It also works on Title IX investigations—acting as counsel, investigator or decision-maker for cases tied to federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any U.S. education program or activity that receives federal financial assistance.
In compliance cases, CCHA attorneys often sit across the table from the NCAA, advising their clients. While much of the firm’s legal work is done in Indiana, its attorneys have multiple state bar admissions and can work with local counsel as needed.
Milt Thompson is a longtime Indianapolis attorney and former sports agent. He said CCHA and other law firms play a significant role in the college athletics ecosystem because they focus on accountability and creating opportunities for athletes, schools and conferences in a challenging environment.
He said that’s particularly true for athletes trying to navigate their way through a complex system like compliance with school and NCAA rules that could affect their eligibility and earning opportunities.
“Having representation that understands these issues, particularly from a compliance point of view, is very, very important,” he said. “These issues are significant. … It’s clearly important that you have some legal counsel because you’re going up against monsters with huge legal budgets.”
The NCAA has control of the student-athlete compliance and rule-infraction process. A 2022 study found that over a three-year period, about 93% of infraction cases were found in the NCAA’s favor.
Fagan said that despite the overwhelming odds of encountering an unfavorable ruling, strong legal counsel can sometimes help mitigate the impact if it can work with its client to take responsibility for the situation. The local law firm is one of the most heavily used firms for NCAA compliance cases—because of both its expertise and its proximity to the association’s downtown headquarters.
In a statement to IBJ, an NCAA spokesperson said practices like Church Church Hittle and Antrim are important to the compliance ecosystem.
“There are a number of niche firms that do this type of infractions work,” the statement said. “The firms that are most successful typically see themselves as a participant in furthering the mission of the infractions program and … embrace the collaborative and cooperative principles upon which the infractions process is based. CCHA is one of many firms that employs that approach.”
Next up
The practice also works with schools and conferences in helping to determine the appropriate course for athlete compensation and establishing frameworks for NIL—and now revenue-sharing—deals.
Both the SCORE and SAFE acts are meant to codify or build upon the settlement in House v. NCAA earlier this year that for the first time allows universities to pay student-athletes directly through a revenue-sharing model. Other bills could also be introduced in hope of tackling the issue, or lawmakers could defer to the NCAA to pick up the pieces on its own.
Most states have in the past several years created their own laws tied to major sports industry hurdles like athlete compensation and gambling practices, although the latter would likely be addressed by separate federal efforts.
Passage of either bill could eliminate certain hurdles, including preempting state laws and addressing athlete compensation. But partner James Nussbaum said he expects CCHA will continue to be enlisted to help schools and conferences interpret the new rules—and to look for answers when those rules are broken.
Nussbaum joined Church Church Hittle and Antrim in late 2022 after working with the firm on multiple internal investigations while he was employed by Indiana University. He said one of the factors that led him to join the sports law practice was the thoroughness of those investigations and the focus on accountability throughout those processes.
“We tend to work with schools that want to do things the right way because … that aligns with the mission and the values that our practice group has,” Nussbaum said. “That doesn’t mean we don’t advocate for our clients at the right time. We’ll still do the investigation, but we’ll make the best argument that we can for the position that we’re taking.”
Either piece of legislation could establish new standards for employment law and perhaps override federal regulations already on the books in other areas.
Nussbaum said it could create challenges related to eligibility, which could tie back to Title IX issues and lead to additional questions about how the law influences the decisions of colleges and universities.
“A lot of schools are really kind of doing some self-examination to try to figure out what they’re trying to accomplish and what risks they’re willing to take,” Nussbaum said. “We’ve been at the table since the House settlement [finalized], and even before, helping schools and conferences project what it was going to look like. It’s just really been fun to get this kind of holistic view of all the different aspects of this new collegiate landscape.”•
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