Our Sports Consultation and Investigation Services

Buckner Legal Self-Help (Buckner) is experienced with assisting colleges, universities, student-athletes and professionals navigate the NCAA enforcement and compliance processes. Here is a summary of our services in this area:

NCAA Enforcement Investigations

Buckner's immense knowledge of athletics enforcement processes is available for your institution if it is confronted with allegations of NCAA, NAIA, NCJAA and interscholastic athletics rules-violations. We specialize in solving your institution’s athletics enforcement issues in a cost-effective and practical manner. Our expert approach in NCAA, NAIA, NCJAA and interscholastic athletics enforcement investigation and crisis management matters enables campus and athletics administrators to focus on their daily duties and responsibilities. Further, we represent clients before the NCAA committees on infractions and infractions appeal committees. We also have experience in auditing and investigating high-school academic credentials and procedures.

Internal Investigations: Title IX and Academic Fraud

Buckner is adept at resolving issues that require in-depth investigation or fact-finding. Our Investigation Team includes attorneys who possess a range of experience and skills, including a former licensed private investigator. In addition, our attorneys are authors of books, articles and resources regarding investigations. We have conducted investigations and represented clients in arbitration cases, as well as assisted clients with inquiries on a range of higher-education issues, including:

• Academic-fraud.

• Athlete abuse by coaches.

• Title IX.

• Illicit sports wagering.

• Non-compliance with government rules and regulations.

• Ethical misconduct.

• Due-diligence.

• Non-compliance with organizational rules and regulations.

Buckner attorneys use a comprehensive investigation plan to discover the relevant facts and, in conjunction with a detailed factual and legal analysis, to determine the full scope of the potential liability for clients. Our attorneys have extensive experience in reaching settlements and agreements with regulatory agencies' investigative staff to reduce the scope of potential allegations. Further, should a case lead beyond an investigation, Buckner can offer attorneys with extensive trial and administrative hearing experience before federal and state courts, as well as sports leagues, federations and associations hearing committees and sports arbitration panels.

Compliance and Ethics

Buckner is available to assist you with developing proactive solutions to address your athletics department’s most pressing compliance and ethics needs. In particular, our experienced professionals can support athletics departments with complying with NCAA, NAIA and NCJAA regulations by evaluating your organization's operations and processes, as well as developing effective compliance and ethics systems. A prominent member of our team is Michael L. Buckner, Esquire, who is a national compliance and ethics trainer and the author of the book, The ABCs of Ethics: A Resource for Leaders, Managers, and Professionals. For example, we:

• Conduct comprehensive compliance audits and reviews.

• Design compliance and ethics programs, policies and procedures.

• Prepare compliance manuals.

• Perform due-diligence reviews.

• Assist organizations with developing codes of ethics.

• Lead process improvement projects.

• Conduct innovative education and training workshops on compliance and ethics issues.

• Provide coaching services for compliance and ethics officers.

Athletics Department Operational Reviews

Buckner's athletics department operational review service is a top-down evaluation of an athletics program that assists administrators with evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the athletics program based on 14 key components. Our operational reviews, which are conducted by a two-person team, consist of four phases: pre-visit assessment (which includes a questionnaire, a request for documents and research); online survey; four-day campus visit (which includes interviews, a student-athlete group discussion, document review and an athletics facilities tour); and post-visit assessment (which includes the report preparation and submission).

Professional Development and Rules-Education

Buckner can work with you to develop and conduct education and training seminars and workshops that produce measurable and dramatic results for an athletics department. Our advisors will analyze your department to produce creative presentations and materials that are informative and useful. For example, our professionals have provided or developed seminars and workshops in a variety of areas and topics, including:

• Academic-fraud.

• NCAA rules-compliance.

• Ethics.

• Internal investigation techniques.

• Leadership and teamwork.

• Process improvement.

Risk Management

Buckner is available to assist your organization in identifying and developing its resources to manage, improve and grow the risk culture at all levels. Through a collaborative partnership, our attorneys, consultants and affiliated professionals will equip you to:

• Identify legal liability, risk exposures, as well as the benefits of risk.

• Conduct risk and vulnerability assessments to help identify foreseeable risks to the security, confidentiality and integrity of data.

• Leverage risks across organizational or departmental units.

• Develop and implement document retention and destruction policies.

• Develop emergency management policies and procedures specifically for use during sport contests.

• Conduct internal personnel investigations.

• Improve process efficiencies and reduce potential risk exposures.

• Identify strategies to develop and retain a culturally diverse workplace.