CCHA’s Sports Law group advises various stakeholders in collegiate athletics on NCAA compliance matters, Title IX, and any legal or investigative issue that may affect an athletics department on campus. CCHA Sports Law conducts investigations into potential NCAA rules violations, works with the NCAA enforcement staff, and advises clients, including institutions, coaches, and student-athletes, through the processing of an infractions case. We also work with institutions and families on pursuing various waivers through the NCAA process, such as transfer waivers or eligibility extensions. CCHA Sports Law also conducts Title IX investigations and investigations into athlete claims of coach misconduct or mistreatment. With college sports changing on a daily basis, we also provide guidance to clients on current and potential future legal issues, including name, image and likeness (NIL).,

Contact a sports law attorney at our Noblesville, Fishers, Tipton, or Merrillville offices.

Sports Law Resources

Here are a few resources you may find helpful in your sports law matters.

• NIL and Collections: The Title IX Question
• NIL in 2022: What’s the Verdict?
• CCHA Sports Law Discusses U.S. Supreme Court NCAA Ruling with WFYI
• CCHA Welcomes Todd Shumaker
• CCHA Collegiate Discusses Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) with The National Desk
• CCHA’s Julie Roe Lach Announced Commissioner of the Horizon League

Meet the Team

Kara Carlson

Kara is the CCHA Sports Sports Law Practice Manager. She came to us from the NCAA National Office, where she worked in the Eligibility Center. During her time at the NCAA, she was a member of the amateurism certification staff, the academic review team and the outreach and strategic partnership team. She also worked at the University of Utah as the Assistant Registrar for Athletics Eligibility and was responsible for initial and transfer eligibility as well as APR.

Kara earned her master’s degree in Business Management from Indiana Wesleyan and earned her bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Iowa.

Kelleigh Irwin Fagan

Kelleigh represents clients on a variety of sports law matters. In her sports practice, she represents clients in all aspects of NCAA investigations or any compliance issue that may arise on a college campus in proactive risk management for NCAA compliance matters. Kelleigh and the sports law team have successfully represented Division I and II institutions and involved individuals (coaches, administrators) in Level I/Level II infractions cases through the infractions process and in front of the NCAA’s Committee on Infraction and Infractions Appeals Committee and institutions and student-athletes in initial and continuing eligibility matters, transfer waivers, student-athlete reinstatement. The sports law team has conducted complex internal investigations that were accepted without further investigation by the NCAA enforcement staff and/or resulted in only Level III self-reporting. Kelleigh has also represented individuals and institutions in Title IX investigations, counseled schools, coaches and administrators in contract negotiations upon employment and severance agreements upon exiting a job, and negotiated sponsorship, apparel, and licensing agreements for institutions. Prior to joining CCHA, Kelleigh worked for the Enforcement Department at the NCAA.

Julie Roe Lach

Julie has been involved with college athletics for nearly 23 years. She worked at the NCAA for over 15 years, most recently serving as the Vice President of Enforcement from October 2010 to February 2013. During her time at the NCAA, Julie participated in over 100 NCAA infractions hearings and played a major role in re-shaping the Enforcement program’s approach to penalties through the NCAA Enforcement Working Group.

Julie currently leads the Horizon League, a Division I conference headquartered in Indianapolis, as Commissioner. She serves as Of Counsel with the CCHA law firm and is a Managing Principal of CCHA Collegiate Sports Consulting (CCHA Collegiate), a CCHA partner that in conjunction with CCHA’s Sports Law Practice Group services clients in various NCAA compliance matters and provides strategic advising and consultative services for institutions and conferences.

Julie is a former women’s basketball player at Millikin University, where she is a trustee emeritus after serving on the Board from 2001 – 2010. She obtained her Juris Doctor from the Indiana University McKinney School of Law and an honorary doctorate from Millikin University in 2012.

Jane McGill

Jane is an NCAA Compliance Specialist. She came to CCHA Sports Law from the NCAA national office, where she worked as an associate director in the Eligibility Center, focusing on academic reviews and complex pre-enrollment eligibility matters. In her role on the academic review team, Jane consulted with member institutions and counsel, guiding them through the initial-eligibility waiver process from submission to appeal.

Jane joined the NCAA as a postgraduate intern in Enforcement, where she assisted with the processing of both secondary and major infractions. Prior to moving to Indianapolis, she spent two years as an assistant coach at Division III Washington and Lee, gaining valuable campus experience.

Jane completed her juris doctor at the University of Virginia School of Law, clerking for law firms in Washington, D.C., and Charleston, South Carolina. Before law school, she earned her bachelor of arts in English from Washington and Lee University, where she was a four-year student-athlete and senior captain on the field hockey team.

Molly Richman

Molly is a partner for the firm at CCHA. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and earned her Juris Doctorate from the Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis. From 2010 to 2015, Molly worked at the NCAA as an Assistant Director of Enforcement. While at the NCAA, Molly reviewed, processed and issued penalties for thousands of secondary (now Level III) enforcement cases. Molly then transferred to the Investigations and Processing sector of the Enforcement department where she investigated and processed major (now Level I and II) enforcement cases. Molly appeared before the Division I Committee on Infractions on multiple occasions and tried some of the most high profile and complicated cases in NCAA history. Molly’s case load also included cases at the Division II and III levels, which were resolved through the summary disposition process. Outside of her casework at the NCAA, Molly was a member of the Enforcement Working Group where she helped to develop and draft legislation for the new violation and penalty structure currently utilized by the Enforcement department.

Most recently, Molly was the Associate General Counsel at USA Football, where she oversaw all legal matters for USA Football events, including ensuring that all USAFB events and practices were in compliance with NCAA legislation. At USA Football, Molly also assisted in employment law matters, sponsorship negotiations and intellectual property issues.

Todd Shumaker

Todd is a partner with CCHA Sports Law practice. Todd’s practice focuses primarily on collegiate sports and includes representing clients in certification, waiver and infractions processes with the NCAA, as well as educating and presenting on NCAA topics to athletics administrators, coaches and student-athletes. Before joining CCHA, Todd spent seven and half years with the enforcement staff at the NCAA where he investigated and processed violations of NCAA rules across all three divisions as an associate director and, more recently, helped develop processes and procedures related to the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. During his time with the NCAA, Todd also sat as an appeals panelist for USA Basketball, served as a liaison to the Board of Governors Student-Athlete Engagement Committee and the Division II Enforcement and Infractions Task Force and helped lead diversity, equity and inclusion efforts as chair of the Enforcement Inclusion Guiding Team and as a member of the LGBTQ-A+ Employee Engagement Group leadership team. From 2007 to 2013, Todd was an attorney and Chief Compliance Officer with the Indiana Office of Inspector General and State Ethics Commission where he assisted in public corruption investigations and adjudicated ethics violations.

Todd received his undergraduate degree in political science from Taylor University before earning his juris doctor from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis. During his time with the NCAA, Todd also completed a master’s degree with the Butler University College of Education.

Providing Proactive Advice + Guidance, Along With Representation, On All Things NCAA Compliance

The team at CCHA Sports Law is here to help you with any and all sports matters, including:

• NCAA Compliance Representation
  • Investigations and case processing through the NCAA process
  • Institutions, coaches, and other involved individuals
• NCAA Waivers
  • Transfer
  • Initial Eligibility
  • Eligibility Extensions
• TItle IX investigations and guidance on investigations and hearing process
• Title IX gender equity assessments
• Investigations into claims of athlete or coach mistreatment
• Name, Image + Likeness (NIL) guidance
• NCAA Rules Education + Assessments
  • Head Coach Control Assessment
  • Institutional Control Assessment
  • Institutional Readiness
• Miscellaneous Services
  • Contract Review and/or Drafting
  • Strategic Planning

Contact the Sports Law Attorneys at CCHA

If you or a loved one needs assistance navigating the world of sports law, contact CCHA Collegiate today, for a partner you can trust.