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C. Peter Goplerud III
Of Counsel
gop-la-rude
(he, him, his)
Overview
An Of Counsel attorney in the firm’s Higher Education practice, Peter Goplerud specializes in higher education and sports law. He is a frequent lecturer and is widely published in the sports law area, including serving as co-author on one of the leading textbooks on the subject. He has extensive accreditation experience, particularly within legal education, having served as chair of numerous ABA Site Evaluation teams.
Peter has been a consultant in sports law and higher education and served as Of Counsel to law firms in Denver, Tulsa, St. Louis, and Edmond, Oklahoma, and provided service as an expert witness prior to joining Spencer Fane. He was involved in the representation of professional athletes in team and individual sports during the 1980s and 1990s. Peter also has experience with coaches’ contracts and NCAA matters, including Name, Image & Likeness issues, athlete eligibility issues, compliance matters, and NCAA membership. He has significant strategic planning experience and has also served on a special investigation team at a Big 10 institution.
Peter began his career as a law clerk for Justice David Prager of the Supreme Court of Kansas and later joined the faculty of the University of Akron School of Law. He has taught at Southern Illinois University School of Law, where he was also dean and associate dean, Saint Louis University School of Law, and the University of Oklahoma College of Law, where he served as dean for three years. In addition, he served as Dean of Drake University Law School from 1997 through 2003 and Florida Coastal School of Law from 2004 through 2013, and again from 2019 to 2023. Peter served in various leadership roles with the ownership group of Florida Coastal from 2013 to 2019. He is currently a Visiting Professor of Law at Florida A&M College of Law.
Peter has been a member of the Sports Lawyers Association Board of Directors since 1997. He has served on numerous committees for the organization and has been the Conference Chair and Co-Chair. Peter served as a member of the Advisory Board of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University Law School from 1999 to 2005. He has also served as a member of the United States Anti-Doping Agency Anti-doping Review Board.
Additionally, Peter has served on numerous nonprofit boards and has frequently interacted with state legislative members and committees. He hosted a weekly radio show on sports law and business topics.
Credentials
Education
- University of Kansas School of Law, 1974 (J.D.)
- University of Kansas, 1971 (B.A.)
- Sports Law: Case and Materials, 10th Edition, Carolina Academic Press, 2024
- Sports Law for Sports Management, Carolina Academic Press, 2023
- Sports Law: Case and Materials, 9th Edition, Carolina Academic Press, 2020