Villanova Students Win Fourth Annual Tulane Professional Basketball Negotiation Competition

Villanova Law students Joseph Manganiello ’21 and Arun Thottakara ’21 won the Annual Tulane Pro Basketball Negotiation Competition, held February 24-27, 2021. Additionally, a second Villanova Law team consisting of Dante Camilli ’23, Ian Daniels ’22 and Alex Fernandez ’22 finished in fourth place. This year’s virtual competition brought together teams from 30 law and business schools from across the country. In the championship round, Manganiello and Thottakara were victorious over teams from American University Washington College of Law and University of Michigan Law School.

This competition, sponsored by Tulane Law School, simulated a free agency negotiation of a real NBA player, using current collective bargaining agreement information. The competition provides participants with the opportunity to sharpen their negotiation skills, as well as their knowledge of NBA contracts. Teams were judged by prominent members in the industry, including experts from the NBA, ESPN and professional basketball teams, such as the Brooklyn Nets, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Villanova Law students have seen success in all three of the Tulane Sports Law competitions held this year, with students placing third at the Annual Professional Football Negotiation Competition and advancing to the semifinal round at the Annual International Baseball Arbitration Competition.