Aaron Hernandez, currently at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, will be joining the faculty at Marquette University Law School as associate professor of practice and director of the National Sports Law Institute.
Marquette is led in the area of sports law by Matt Mitten, professor of law, and Paul Anderson, associate professor of law and director of the Sports Law Program. Marquette is a national and international leader in sports law. Hernandez, a Marquette Law School alumnus, will join the team this August.
In addition to teaching, Hernandez will have significant responsibility for the Law School’s engagement with the sports law community and the broader sports industry, through conferences and continuing legal education programs and in new ways.
“The National Sports Law Institute has been a great asset for Marquette Law School under the leadership of Professors Matt Mitten and Paul Anderson,” said Marquette Dean Joseph D. Kearney. “We all welcome back now-Professor Hernandez as the NSLI moves in just a few years toward its 40th anniversary. He is a dynamic and innovative leader. This expansion of Marquette’s sports law offerings and reach will enrich our services for students and the broader communities of which we are part.”
Hernandez will conclude his work this summer as executive director of the Allan “Bud” Selig Sports Law and Business Program at Arizona State. He previously was associate director of football at the NCAA, where he specialized in stakeholder engagement in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, working with college football coaches, athletic directors, sports administrators, compliance officers, and many other stakeholders. As part of his duties, Hernandez conducted investigations into institutions that may have violated NCAA rules and focused on matters that involved Division I college football.
Hernandez graduated from Marquette University Law School in 2013, receiving a certificate in sports law from the National Sports Law Institute; he is a member of the Wisconsin bar. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame. He received Marquette’s Charles W. Mentkowski Sports Law Alumnus of the Year Award in 2019 and has published in a number of law journals on legal issues in sports.
Founded in 1989, the National Sports Law Institute is part of Marquette University Law School. Its mission is to be the leading national educational and research institute for the study of legal, ethical, and business issues affecting amateur and professional sports from both an academic and practical perspective. It provides educational opportunities for law students as well as current and future leaders in the sports industry.
Marquette Law School’s Sports Law Program provides the nation’s most comprehensive offering of sports law courses and student internships with sports organizations as well as opportunities to become members of the Marquette Sports Law Review and National Sports Law Moot Court team. The Sports Law Program is designed to provide Marquette Law School students with both a theoretical and practical education concerning the internal governance and legal regulation of sports, at the youth, high school, college, Olympic, international, and professional levels.
