ASU Law names Master of Sports Law and Business program for Allan 'Bud' Selig

On Sept. 12, 2019, the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University announced the newly named Allan “Bud” Selig Master of Sports Law and Business program and the establishment of the Marie Selig Professorship in Selig’s mother’s name.

The announcement was shared at the launch of the former Major League Baseball commissioner and Distinguished Professor of Sports in America at ASU Law's new book, “For the Good of the Game,” in front of a record crowd at ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus.

“The commissioner has been an instrumental part of the success of our Sports Law and Business program and we are honored that it will now be associated with such a legendary and transformative figure of professional sports,” said Dean Douglas Sylvester at ASU Law. “With his long-term support and time spent here at the law school, we are deeply grateful to both Commissioner Selig and his wife, Sue.”

The inaugural Marie Selig Professorship was awarded to Professor Zachary Gubler, whose research interests lie in the areas of corporate law and financial and securities regulation.

“It is a great privilege to be named the Marie Selig Professor of Law," Gubler said. "This professorship is a moving tribute to Commissioner Selig’s mother, who was an educator, and I commit to do my best to always be deserving of such an honor. The influence that the Selig family’s generosity will have on ASU Law is shaping up to be as great as the influence that Commissioner Selig had on baseball, which of course landed him in the Hall of Fame.”

Gubler joined the ASU law faculty in 2011 after having spent two years at Harvard Law School as a Climenko Fellow. Prior to joining the academy, Professor Gubler served as a law clerk to Judge Richard C. Wesley of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

“Professor Gubler started here at the law school the first year I was dean and is of the highest level of integrity and a pillar of the faculty,” said Sylvester. “These professorships allow us to recruit faculty who bring their wealth of experience and groundbreaking research to the law school and we are excited to award this professorship to him.” 

Over the past several years, Selig has been a great supporter of the Sports Law and Business program. Selig was ASU Law’s convocation speaker and was the founding member of the Sports Law and Business Advisory Board. Selig also teaches in the program allowing students a unique opportunity to learn from someone who has been on the front lines of sports administration. 

“We are grateful for the continued support of Commissioner Selig and his dedication to this program,” said Glenn Wong, distinguished professor of law and executive director of the Allan "Bud" Selig Sports Law and Business program. “Through his naming of our Master of Sports Law and Business program and his support of our Selig Scholars, ASU Law is able to provide access to an unparalleled law and graduate school experience.”

The Allan “Bud” Selig Master of Sports Law and Business program features the expertise of world-class faculty and programming to provide specialized and targeted experiences for legal scholars with career aspirations in sports. It is the only law program in the U.S. that combines sports, law, and business into one comprehensive program.

“We are very proud of our immensely popular Sports Law and Business program,” said Sylvester. “Nowhere else in the country can a law school provide students practical experiences, taught by professors at the peak of their careers, to succeed in the sports industry, than here at ASU Law.”