{"id":13069,"date":"2017-12-20T08:27:33","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T14:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/?p=13069"},"modified":"2017-12-21T10:20:38","modified_gmt":"2017-12-21T16:20:38","slug":"fall-entering-class-features-three-students-with-ties-to-pro-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/2017\/12\/20\/fall-entering-class-features-three-students-with-ties-to-pro-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Fall entering class features three students with ties to pro sports"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Twin Cities will be the center of the sports universe in February, when Super Bowl 52 is played in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

And while Mitchell Hamline is not often associated with big-time sports, three incoming students deepened our connection to that world this fall.<\/p>\n

One of our 1Ls is a former professional football player and star of a football reality show, another is a former top executive with the Seattle Seahawks and Supersonics as well as the Portland Trail Blazers, and one is a current Major League Baseball umpire.<\/p>\n

Each picked a different enrollment option\u2014on-campus, Executive J.D., and HYBRID J.D. program\u2014but their reasons for entering law school, and what they\u2019d like to do after graduation, are all driven by their careers and experiences in sports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Jeremiah Allison \u2013 The former NFL prospect<\/h3>\n

Jeremiah Allison<\/strong> endured a rigorous schedule as a linebacker for the Washington State Cougars. At 6 am he lifted weights. At 9 am he started classes. His afternoons were filled with team practice. His evenings were spent studying.<\/p>\n

As a full-time, on-campus student, Allison still starts each day by lifting weights. After that, law school fills his day.\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically, I took my football work ethic and applied it to my law school work ethic,\u201d Allison says.<\/p>\n

Allison\u2019s road from college football to Mitchell Hamline wasn\u2019t a straight line. After graduating in 2016 with degrees in political science and criminal justice, he was thought by many sports watchers to be NFL-bound. Allison didn\u2019t end up being drafted, an experience that was chronicled in the NFL Network reality show \u201cUndrafted.\u201d Allison took it in stride, saying the NFL stands for \u201cnot for long.\u201d Law school was always the end game.<\/p>\n

After a stint as a legislative intern at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia, he did get some professional football experience outside of the U.S. Allison signed on to play one season with the Milano Rhinos, an American-style football team in Italy.<\/p>\n

After returning to the United States, Allison attended the CLEO Pre-Law Summer Institute at Mitchell Hamline. The goal of the month-long institute, held every year at a different law school around the country, is to give a diverse group of students a rigorous preview of law school. Its goal is to diversify the pool of potential law students in the U.S. and ultimately the legal world as well.<\/p>\n

Soon after, Allison accepted an offer to attend Mitchell Hamline. \u201cYou get a great feel here,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Born in Minneapolis\u2014where his dad still lives\u2014Allison says going to law school in St. Paul feels like a homecoming. And studying the law has been something he has wanted to do since he was 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always wanted to go to law school. I always wanted to have those two letters, J.D., behind my name.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduation, Allison hopes to continue his work in the sports world as an attorney for professional athletes. Don\u2019t expect him to limit himself to just one path though.<\/p>\n

\u201cLinebackers have to watch the run and call the plays,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s what a versatile player does. I want to incorporate what I learned on the football field to this life I\u2019m transitioning into.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bob Whitsitt \u2013 The former president and GM<\/h3>\n

With nearly three decades of professional sports management experience and more than a decade as a business consultant, Bob Whitsitt<\/strong> says he\u2019s up for a \u201ctotally different kind of challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Whitsitt\u2019s career began with an internship with the Indiana Pacers in 1978. Within a few years, he was named vice president of marketing for the Kansas City Kings, overseeing the team\u2019s 1984 move to Sacramento. In 1986, when he was just 30, Whitsitt was tapped to become president and general manager of the Seattle Supersonics, making him the youngest top executive in the NBA. At the time, the team had one of the worst records in basketball and was last in the league in terms of attendance. When he left eight years later, the Sonics were a winning team playing in front of sold-out crowds, a feat that earned him the NBA\u2019s 1994 Executive of the Year honor.<\/p>\n

Whitsitt had similar successes in top positions with the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks in the decade following. Since 2005, Whitsitt has served as the president of several companies and started a business consulting firm with his wife, Jan Sundberg Whitsitt.<\/p>\n

Whitsitt\u2019s rise through the ranks of professional sports management left little time for something he always wanted to do\u2014get his J.D.<\/p>\n

The 61-year old considered entering a part-time program at a law school in the Seattle area, but his hectic travel schedule doesn\u2019t allow for on-campus classes, even at night or on the weekends.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what did work for Whitsitt: the new Executive J.D., an enrollment option that lets professionals go to law school without upending their lives. Most of the coursework is done online with two intense, work-filled visits to campus each semester.<\/p>\n

Whitsitt comes to the program with plenty of business experience, something he hopes will come in handy as he studies the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve probably negotiated over a thousand contracts with players, coaches, owners, and municipalities,\u201d Whitsitt says. \u201cI\u2019ve been in court, I\u2019ve sued people, I\u2019ve been sued, and I\u2019ve been a witness. I\u2019ve got experience doing a lot of things that we\u2019ll probably end up studying.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for the Whitsitt once he earns his J.D. from Mitchell Hamline? He says he might use his decades of management experience to help a new generation of business people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to see where it takes me,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m interested in some pro-bono work and helping small companies that can\u2019t afford lawyers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clint Fagan \u2013 The man behind the plate<\/h3>\n

If there\u2019s a job that perfectly prepares someone for law school and a legal career, it might be being a Major League Baseball umpire.<\/p>\n

Just ask Clint Fagan<\/strong>, an ump with 13 years of experience in more than 500 major league and 2,500 minor league games.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing this profession prepares you for is how to keep yourself calm when everything else is going crazy,\u201d Fagan says. \u201cYou\u2019re the one person who has to \"\"remain steady when everything else is mayhem.\u201d<\/p>\n

YouTube is full of examples of Fagan keeping his cool in crazy situations\u2014whether that\u2019s standing nose-to-nose with a screaming player, trying to intervene in a bench-clearing brawl, or taking a deflected pitch straight to the facemask.<\/p>\n

A student in the HYBRID J.D. program, Fagan sees similarities between umping and the work lawyers and judges do.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike how to handle people when they\u2019re dealing with a lot of emotion, a lot of intensity, and how to defuse a situation,\u201d Fagan says. \u201cAt the same time how to think on your feet to resolve the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fagan, 35, lives with his wife, Samantha, and their children, Addison and Hudson, in the Houston suburb of Tomball, Texas. He\u2019s an insurance agent during the baseball off-season.<\/p>\n

He calls the online and on-campus HYBRID J.D. program a \u201cperfect fit\u201d for his career, one that\u2019s filled with travel to ballparks around the nation, often on short notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe baseball season starts with spring training, and I\u2019m not done until October,\u201d Fagan says. \u201cI couldn\u2019t go to a traditional brick-and-mortar school.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Fagan hasn\u2019t decided what he\u2019ll do when he earns his J.D., he\u2019s considering working toward\u2014what else\u2014a Certificate in Conflict Resolution from Mitchell Hamline\u2019s nationally ranked Dispute Resolution Institute.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve looked at the Dispute Resolution Institute,\u201d Fagan says. \u201cIt really interests me because I think that\u2019s one of my strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fagan is also looking at a future in sports labor negotiations. He\u2019s held leadership positions with the minor league umpires\u2019 union, where he\u2019s helped negotiate contracts and resolve disputes.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s also considering real estate law. He\u2019s learned a lot about that field from one of his mentors, Dan Bellino, who Fagan says is the only major league umpire who is also a practicing attorney. At least until Fagan graduates in four years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Mitchell Hamline Law Winter 2017<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Twin Cities will be the center of the sports universe in February, when Super Bowl 52 is played in Minneapolis. And while Mitchell Hamline is not often associated with big-time sports, three incoming students deepened our connection to that world this fall. One of our 1Ls is a former professional football player and star … <\/p>\n

Fall entering class features three students with ties to pro sports<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4909,"featured_media":13077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13069","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-features","8":"category-news","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4909"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}