Career Aspirations Set on College Athletics

Grant Farmer ’22 has his eyes set on his goal—to work in collegiate athletics when he graduates from Villanova Law. As an undergraduate business student at Mississippi State University, Farmer was first introduced to the world of college sports during internships with the Mississippi State Athletic Department, and he was hooked.

Based on advice from colleagues at the Mississippi State Athletic Department, Farmer decided to pursue a law degree. “I knew that furthering my education and sharpening my skills would help my overall career goal of working in the business of sports” said Farmer. “Ultimately, I aspire to be an athletic director at a Power Five school, and I know that a law degree from Villanova will help me prepare for that goal.”

Farmer’s law school search kept bringing him back to Villanova Law. He wanted a law school that had a focus on sports law, and the Sports Law Concentration at Villanova Law, combined with the Jeffrey S. Moorad Center for the Study of Sports Law, offered what he was looking for. “I researched sports law programs and Villanova kept coming up,” said Farmer. “After touring the campus and meeting with some of the faculty, I knew that Villanova was the place for me.”

Since coming to Villanova Law, Farmer has fully immersed himself in the sports law programming. As a Moorad Fellow and active member of the Sports Law Society, he works closely with Andrew Brandt, Executive Director of the Jeffrey S. Moorad Center for the Study of Sports Law, on research initiatives. He is helping to plan the annual Moorad Sports Law Journal Symposium and has contributed to the Villanova Law Sports Law Blog.

“The faculty at Villanova Law are outstanding,” said Farmer. “I love learning from professors who are very established and connected in the industry and have practical experience in the sports business world. When it comes time to pursue full-time career opportunities after graduation, I know they will be immensely helpful.”

During the summer of 2020, Farmer returned to Mississippi and held an externship as a Summer Law Clerk with Brown & Langston, PLLC, a law firm focused on real estate matters, probate and estate planning. While working for the firm, Farmer drafted deeds and trusts for real estate transactions, assisted with estate and will preparations, attended commercial and residential real estate closings, and researched land ownership documents at the local courthouse. Thanks to the connections of Julie Brown, Senior Partner at Brown & Langston, Farmer was also able to meet local judges and sit in on court proceedings on a variety of issues.

“It was a really eye-opening experience to see different parts of the legal world,” said Farmer. “The work with contracts and gaining a better understanding of how select provisions could lead to different outcomes, will absolutely translate to help with my future career in athletics.”

This coming summer, Farmer plans to extern with the Athletic Compliance Department at Mississippi State, and during his 3L year he plans to do a compliance externship with the Villanova Athletic Department. Following graduation, he hopes to secure a position at a Power Five school athletic department in compliance and work his way up from there.