Oregon Law is thrilled to announce that Professor Ryan Gauthier will be the visiting director of the Summer Sports Law Institute for this coming summer. The program will be held July 5 through August 5 and will be virtual this year, due to the World Athletics Championships taking place in Eugene from July 15-24.
Gauthier fills in for Professor Rob Illig, who has directed the Institute since 2014 and is taking a break this summer. Gauthier is an associate professor at Thompson Rivers University Law in British Columbia. In Fall 2021, Gauthier visited Oregon Law, teaching first-year torts as well as an upper-level elective on sports and human rights. Previously, Gauthier has been a visiting professor at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Law School.
“I've been fortunate to be named the Director of the University of Oregon's Summer Sports Law Institute for Summer 2022,” Gauthier said. “I look forward to continuing the work on an excellent summer sports law program.”
Aside from teaching tort law and sports law, Gauthier teaches a course called “Legislation, Administration, and Policy” as well as courses in international law, employment law, and human rights law. Gauthier is also the coach of the Jessup International Law Moot Court Team. He has coached the Hockey Arbitration Competition of Canada and the National Sports Law Negotiation Moots.
Gauthier specializes in legal issues related to the Olympics, and he has published a book titled The International Olympic Committee, Law, and Accountability that examines international human rights law and violations in that context. Gauthier’s other book, Cap in Hand: How Salary Caps Are Killing Pro Sports, co-authored with Bruce Dowbiggin, proposes a free-market approach to North American professional sports leagues. In addition to book publications, Gauthier’s work has been featured in the International Sports Law Journal, Connecticut journal of International Law, Canadian Yearbook of International Law, American Journal of International Law, and more.
The University of Oregon Summer Sports Law Institute is a 5-week credit-bearing program that examines a wide range of topics in relation to the legal and intellectual aspects of sports law. Subjects taught include Title IX, antitrust, labor law, intellectual property, NCAA compliance, e-sports, arbitration, torts, and the impact of COVID-19 on the sports industry. This program provides the opportunity for students to learn about the intersection of sports and law, here at Oregon Law and for law students from other law schools that do not offer sports law curriculum.
The Institute instructors are the nation’s top law professors and sports law practitioners, and the intensive course features guest speakers from the professional sports industry, media, NCAA, and many other organizations.
Gauthier received his bachelor’s degree from Carleton University and his JD from Harvard Law School. In 2015, he completed his PhD thesis on the accountability of the International Olympic Committee at the Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.