Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship, and the Law Hosts Annual Symposium 2026
On March 18, Pepperdine Caruso Law's Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship, and the Law (JBEL) hosted it's annual symposium, titled "Collegiate Athletics and Name, Image, Likeness." The symposium featured perspectives from athletic departments, athletes, agents, and sports lawyers on the management, implications, and sustainability of the new name, image, and likeness (NIL) landscape.
The first panel of the symposium, titled "The Legal Evolution of NIL," explored the legal shift from NCAA amateurism to the modern NIL era. The speakers, including Pepperdine general manager of NIL Ryan Hiepler, UCLA senior associate athletics director of NIL operations and cap management Teri Hanneke, professor Maureen Weston, and moderator Liam Ganion, discussed how NIL operates within athletic departments, its impact on recruiting and athlete expectations, and the key legal and regulatory questions shaping the future of college athletics.
The symposium's second panel, titled "Inside the Athletic Department: Managing NIL," considered how college athletic departments are navigating new operational, compliance, and strategic challenges. The panelists, including Pepperdine director of athletics Tanner Gardner, Pepperdine senior associate athletic director for internal operations and senior woman administrator Amanda Kurtz, Loyola Marymount University senior associate athletic director Thad Satre, UCLA deputy athletics director, chief administrative officer and senior woman administrator Dr. Christina Munger-Rivera, and moderator Raymond C. Davison III, examined how administrators are managing NIL in practice, including recruiting dynamics, athlete education, institutional compliance, and emerging questions around equity and Title IX.
The third and final panel of the symposium, titled "Brand, Business, and Athlete Representation," considered how the NIL commercial opportunities available to college athletes, brands, agents, and advisors are playing an increasingly important role in shaping the marketplace. The speakers, including Los Angeles Ram and PeakNIL co-founder and chief strategy officer Blake Corum, PeakNIL co-founder and chief commercial officer Brian Siegrist, Sports Media Consulting attorney at law Robert A. Hackler, founder of Leopoldus Law, APC Brandon Leopoldus, Excel Sports senior manager of NIL football Ethan Zakarin, and moderator Kassie Brumley explored how athlete representation works in the NIL era, how partnerships between athletes and brands are structured, and what the future of athlete-driven business may look like.
About the Pepperdine Caruso Law Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship, and the Law
The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship and the Law (JBEL) advances the conversation at the intersection of business and law. We publish interdisciplinary scholarship that examines the legal forces shaping today's industries and tomorrow's innovations.
JBEL is more than a journal. It is a forum for thought leaders across the legal and business communities-attorneys, legislators, professors, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and industry executives-who offer sharp analysis and forward-thinking perspectives on business law and entrepreneurship.
We publish two issues each year, in the fall and spring, and host engaging symposium that conveneleading experts to tackle the most urgent and consequential issues in the field.