Sports law will be on tap at the 2025 Annual NAFUSA Conference in D.C. in October! Recent developments in the world of college sports, including the legal and practical issues surrounding name, image and likeness (NIL) agreements and the creation of the College Sports Commission, are hot issues in sports AND legal environments. How will college sports be impacted? What roles will attorneys have in advising athletes or other affected clients? What will regulations look like? These and so many other questions surrounding the “ever-changing landscape of college athletics” will be addressed in two separate sessions on NAFUSA’s conference program next month in D.C.

On Thursday, October 9, Jay Bilas, ESPN’s top college basketball analyst, widely known for his thorough knowledge of the game and his professional, clever style, will be interviewed by NAFUSA Vice President Tim Purdon. Jay was a four-year starter at Duke University under Mike Krzyzewski helping to lead Duke to the No. 1 ranking in 1986 and set the NCAA record for the most wins in a single season. While a player at Duke, he was appointed to the NCAA’s Long-Range Planning Committee., serving from 1984-1986.

He played professionally before returning to Duke in 1990 and attending Duke Law School while serving as an assistant coach under Krzyzewski. During that time the Blue Devils won back-to-back National Championships in 1991 and 1992.

Jay has spoken and lectured at Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, SMU’s Maguire Center for Ethics, The University of North Carolina, Tennessee, and many other great schools. His extensive knowledge of both the sports and legal worlds and his witty style have made him a very popular speaker. He has won too many awards and accolades to list here – including being named Sports Illustrated Best Analyst in College Basketball three times. And he is a practicing attorney.

It will be interesting to hear more about Jay Bilas’s exciting career during Tim’s interview and to hear his thoughts about NIL, what the impact on college sports has been so far, his prediction for the future and where it stands today. The interview will discuss the legal implications of NIL and the new sports commission.

The next day, NAFUSA Board Member Conner Eldridge will lead a panel of experts who are very familiar with the legal and practical implications of NIL, the College Sports Commission and potential impact of revenue sharing on Division One athletic programs and universities. The panel is entitled, “Show Me the Money: The Current and Everchanging Landscape of Collegiate Athletics, NIL, and Thoughts on Justice in College Sports.”

The panel will include former NAFUSA board members Ron Machen and Greg Brower and NAFUSA member Dan French. They each bring a wealth of knowledge and interesting viewpoints to different aspects of the issues surrounding collegiate sports today. Greg Brower served as the Chief Global Compliance Officer of Wynn Resorts, a publicly-trading hospitality and gaming company based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and brings his knowledge of the legal gambling industry to the discussion of its potential impact on college sports. Ron Machen is an experienced and well-regarded litigator specializing in representing clients, including the NCAA, in complex high-stakes situations. Dan French has a distinguished career spanning multiple related fields within the legal profession. Prior to his current position as co-chair of Barclay Damon’s Higher Education and White Collar & Government Investigations Practice, he was the senior vice president and general counsel at Syracuse University.

Many thanks to our Conference Committee for bringing these and the other great presentations to the line-up for NAFUSA’s 2025 Annual Conference.

As in previous years, Thursday night of the conference is designated for members of
presidential administrations to have dinner together independently. These mini reunions,
dubbed “class dinners” are organized by volunteers from the different administrations
represented. Please be sure to contact your class dinner organizer to let them know if you
will join them for dinner and if you will bring a guest.

Class dinner organizers:

Biden Administration:

Jill Steinberg (NDGA)- steinbergj@ballardspahr.com
Lane Tucker (Alaska)- lanetucker@gmail.com
Rebecca Lutzko (NDOH) – Rebecca.lutzko@gmail.com

Trump (1) Administration:

Jay Town (NDAL) – jay.town@grayanalytics.com

Obama Administration:

Tim Purdon (North Dakota) tpurdon@robinskaplan.com

Bush (2) Administration:

Don Washington (WDLA)- dwashington@joneswalker.com
Debra Wong Yang (CDCA) -dwyang925@hotmail.com

Clinton Administration:

Donna Bucella -dbucella@comcast.net

Prior Administrations:

Jack Selden (NDAL) – jseldon@bradley.com

NAFUSA is excited to host our 2025 annual conference at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, D.C. Regarded as one of the top historic hotels in America, the luxury Beaux-Arts hotel is two blocks east of the White House at 1401 Pennsylvania Ave., NW and has a rich history spanning over two centuries. The hotel has been the site of many important events in American history and has housed hundreds of notable guests. Author Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote in the 1860’s that “the Willard Hotel more justly could be called the center of Washington than either the Capitol or the White House or the State Department.”

The current hotel was founded by Henry Willard in 1847 on the site of the first six buildings to be constructed at that location and used as a hotel. He combined and transformed the buildings into a grand four-story hotel.

The present 12 story structure opened in 1901, suffered major damage in a fire in 1922, and by 1968 had fallen into severe decline and closed. After gaining new owners with a 73-million-dollar restoration project and a goal to make the restoration as historically accurate as possible, the 389 room Willard Hotel reopened in 1986, once again an elegant and important hotel.

The Willard has hosted numerous U.S. Presidents and notable guests. Abraham Lincolnstayed there for ten days before his inauguration in 1861. The hotel hosted the 1861 peace conferences aimed at preventing the war. It served as a temporary residence for Vice President Calvin Coolidge. Martin Luther King finished his “I Have a Dream” speech in his hotel room there. Charles Dickens and Buffalo Bill stayed there. Ulysses S. Grant famously held court in the lobby (a beginning of the term “lobbyists.”)

In addition to many fine restaurants and bars, the Willard houses the iconic Round Robin Bar which has been nicknamed the “Oval Office of Bars.” The bar has been a meeting place for D.C.’s political and social elite since 1847 – and is famous for its oak lined walls and its signature drink, the Mint Julip.

NAFUSA conference attendees will have an opportunity to learn more about the Willard’s rich history while enjoying its luxurious amenities. The hotel has a famous History Gallery which guests can visit, and the concierge has pamphlets with more information and a guide to significant areas within the hotel.

Be sure to register for the conference starting next week and use the link to reserve a room at the Willard for your stay.

NAFUSA 2025 conference registration is now open. The NAFUSA opening reception, sponsored again this year by our generous sponsor Guidepost, will be Wednesday October 8 at 6:00 p.m. It will be hosted by King & Spalding LLP on the penthouse floor of their Washington, D.C. offices located at 1700 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W., a short walk from the conference hotel.  Please click the link below to register and book a hotel room in the NAFUSA block at the Willard hotel.

If you have any issues booking your room or want to extend your stay please contact Lisa Rafferty.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE AND BOOK HOTEL ROOM

2025 NAFUSA CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Registration for NAFUSA’s 2025 Annual Conference will open Monday, August 4! Watch your emails for registration information including a link to register for the conference and a link to reserve a room in the conference hotel – The Willard – to take advantage of NAFUSA’s lower block rate. It will also include information about signing up to play golf on Wednesday morning, October 8 at the Army Navy Country Club across the river in Arlington. Registration information, including links, will also be available on the NAFUSA website, NAFUSA.org, early next week.

There are 28 slots available for golf on Wednesday morning. The fee charged includes transportation to and from the course. Golf at the Army Navy Country Club is exclusive to members and their guests so this is a very special opportunity (thanks to NAFUSA president, Donna Bucella). If you’re interested, I suggest that you register for the conference as soon as possible and sign up for golf at the same time you do since spots are limited.

Dates and times to add to your calendars:

The NAFUSA opening reception, sponsored again this year by our generous sponsor Guidepost, will be Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. It will be hosted by King & Spalding LLP on the penthouse floor of their Washington, D.C. offices located at 1700 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W., a short walk from the conference hotel.

Class dinners will be Thursday, October 9 at 6:00 at restaurants tbd. Watch your newsletter for names of class members organizing the dinners. If you’re interested in being part of the planning, let us know.

September 15 is the last day to reserve a room at the Willard at the special block rate. If you want to extend your stay before or after the conference dates, you will be able to do so at the negotiated rate if rooms are available.

We look forward to seeing you and your spouse/guest at the conference! Please contact me or Deputy Director Lisa Rafferty if you have questions or difficulty registering.

NAFUSA will present the 2025 Bradford Award to this year’s winners at the annual
conference in Washington, DC on October 10. The award, named in honor of former U.S.
Attorney J. Michael Bradford, recognizes an Assistant U.S. Attorney for outstanding
performance in handling an investigation and prosecution, or series of prosecutions, that
have had a significant impact and merit special recognition. NAFUSA annually solicits
nominations from current U.S. Attorneys of AUSAs in their offices whose work merits this
recognition.

This year, a committee from NAFUSA’s Board of Directors selected two AUSAs from the
many impressive nominations submitted. The winners, Margaret (“Maggie”) Lynaugh and
Brandon Thompson, are from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New
York (SDNY). Maggie and Brandon were nominated for the award in large measure for their
joint prosecution of five individuals who used a Bronx daycare as a front for their fentanyl
trafficking business, resulting in the poisoning of four children under two years old and,
tragically, one infant’s death. These outstanding AUSAs have also brought significant
prosecutions against fake online pharmacy schemes with victims in all 50 states and a
groundbreaking case with the Food and Drug Administration, including a first-of-its-kind
prosecution of a defendant selling counterfeit Ozempic medication through social media
platforms.

Maggie Lynaugh has been an AUSA in the SDNY since 2021. During that time, she has
served in the office’s general crimes, narcotics, illicit finance and money laundering and
securities units. Prior to joining the Department of Justice, she clerked for U.S. District
Court Judge Barbara S. Jones in the SDNY. She also worked in private practice for over ten years, primarily focusing on white collar criminal defense and civil litigation. Maggie is a
graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School

Brandon Thompson joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the SDNY in 2022 and has served in the office’s general crimes, narcotics, complex frauds and cybercrime units. Prior to joining the DOJ, he clerked for First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey R. Howard and also for U.S. District Court Judge Gregory H. Woods III in the SDNY. Brandon also worked in private practice for two years focusing primarily on white collar criminal defense and civil litigation. Brandon is a graduate of Columbia University and Yale Law School

Congratulations and honorable mention to the following outstanding nominees:

Chauncey Bratt

Middle District of Florida

Andrew Grogan

Northern District of Florida

Kaitlin Teresa Farrell

Eastern District of New York

Robert W. Schumacher

Eastern District of New York

Danielle Bateman

Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Elizabeth C. Warren

District of South Carolina

Thomas J. Hanlon

Eastern District of Washington

In addition to having the beautiful and historic Willard Hotel in Washington DC as our
conference venue for 2025, the program promises to be both interesting and relevant for
conference attendees. Once again, we are honored to have incredibly impressive and
experienced speakers as our conference guests.

As a few examples, included in this year’s conference will be a panel of experts led by
NAFUSA board member Scott Schools, Chief Compliance Officer at OpenAI. The panel,
entitled “Every Conference Has to Have an AI Session -This is it!” will discuss AI policy,
copyright issues and AI in the legal profession. The panel will Include Ben Rossen,
Associate General Counsel and Head of Policy Legal at OpenAI; Danny Tobey, Chair of DLA Piper’s AI and Data Analytics Practice, a successful software founder, and medical doctor; and Sy Damie, Partner and Vice Chair of Artificial Intelligence Practice, Latham & Watkins.

This year’s Supreme Court Review will be a panel including Jessica Amunson and Adam
Unikowsky, both Harvard Law graduates and partners at Jenner and Block, LLP in its
Appellate & Supreme Court Practice, which Ms. Amunson co-chairs. She was featured in a Harvard Law Today article in 2023 titled, “What’s it like to argue in front of the Supreme
Court?”Mr. Unikowsky was a judicial law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Conner Eldridge, NAFUSA board member, founding partner of Eldridge Brooks, and
Chairman & CEO, Riverside Bank, Little Rock, Arkansas, will moderate a timely (and most
likely very lively) panel discussion on the legal and practical impact of changes to the rules
governing college sports rules, “Show Me the Money: The Current and Ever-changing
Landscape of Collegiate Athletics, the NIL and Thoughts on Justice in College Sports.”

Keep watching the NAFUSA newsletter and website for more information. Hope to see you at The Willard in October!

New Jersey Assistant U.S. Attorney John Romano captivated NAFUSA’s 2024 Annual Conference attendees as he related the long and twisted history of the prosecution of foster parents Carolyn and Keith Jackson, who brutally tortured and starved young children in their care. The original trial judge sentenced the couple three times, twice after remand from the Third Circuit, significantly lower than the verdict and sentencing guidelines called for. The case went up to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals three times. The sentence was finally vacated and the case remanded for resentencing before a different judge. The link to the Third Circuit’s opinion on the appeal of the new sentence is below. Spoiler alert: John’s perseverance once again prevailed. Congratulations, John, and thank you!

Jackson Case Update

The 2025 annual conference in Washington D.C. October 8-10 will open early for NAFUSA golfers. Conference attendees will be able to play a round of golf with fellow members and guests at the historic Army Navy Country Club on Army Navy Drive in Arlington, Virginia. Registration for the reserved tee times on Wednesday morning, October 8, and for transport to the golf course from the conference hotel, will open concurrently with conference registration this summer.

The Army Navy Country Club was established in 1925. It sits in part on the site of Fort Richardson, a Union fort which commanded the highest ground of the forts on the Virginia side of D.C. defending the nation’s capital during the Civil War. It is a private, member-owned country club whose membership ranges from civilians to Active Duty and Retired Commissioned Officers and is ranked in the top 4% of private clubs in the U.S. The club has been featured in Virginia Golfer magazine. The course is considered challenging with a variety of holes and is certainly beautiful. We are pleased to offer an opportunity to play on this legendary golf course to NAFUSA conference attendees.