As an assistant professor in the Department of Management and Leadership, Jeff Levine, J.D., Ph.D., is set to become an integral part of shaping the University’s Sport Management Program. 

Jeff Levine, J.D., Ph.D., has always been passionate about the sports industry. That passion is something he’s been growing since his days as an undergraduate student.  

“My path has really given me an opportunity to gain the foundation in various areas of expertise that are incredibly important in today’s sports management industry,” he said.  

At the University of Michigan, Levine pursued a degree in sports management and communications. He deepened his appreciation for the industry when he became a student manager for the University of Michigan football team and learned what went into the day-to-day operations of a Big Ten Conference team.  

In the classroom, he began to learn more about the legal world of sports. He began to understand the fundamental role the law plays in the industry and set his sights on working as an attorney for a professional sports team.  

Following his time at Michigan, Levine earned a Juris Doctor degree, along with a Certificate in Sports Law from Tulane University Law School. He subsequently worked in the legal department of the National Hockey League’s Arizona Coyotes, gaining firsthand experience with the legal and business issues surrounding a professional sport organization. (The Arizona Coyotes have since relocated to Utah and renamed the Mammoth).  

After his time with the Coyotes, Levine practiced law but eventually realized that traditional legal practice was not his long-term calling. He continued writing and researching sport law, began providing media commentary on legal issues in sport, and discovered another outlet for bringing those interests together: teaching. 

He began teaching as an adjunct faculty member at two universities and later earned his doctorate from the University of Louisville in educational leadership, evaluation, and organizational development with a sport management specialization. 

Eight years later, Levine, who calls himself an “accidental academic,” has found his new calling and has spent time in various faculty positions at universities across the country. Most recently, he served as an associate clinical professor of sport business and led the esports business minor at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, where he had previously helped design and direct one of the country’s early university esports business degree programs. 

He now brings his talents to La Salle University as an assistant professor of management and leadership. He will be an integral part of shaping the next chapter of the institution’s Sport Management Program which launched in 2024. 

“What really attracted me to La Salle was the combination of mission and opportunity,” Levine said. “I’ve always believed strongly in practical, student-centered education, and I saw a great deal of alignment between that and the Lasallian emphasis on individualized attention, respect of the individual, inclusion, the importance of practical education, and really educating the whole person.” 

As Levine enters his new role at 20^th and Olney, he will be primarily responsible for growing the Sport Management Program. Right now, his focus is on continuing to evolve the curriculum with future goals of integrating travel study opportunities into the program as well as considering how it could expand to the graduate level. 

“I was particularly excited to join the Sport Management Program at a point where there is a great opportunity to contribute to the program’s continued growth,” he said.  

In Levine’s classroom, and the program beyond, students can expect to discuss a wide variety of topics including marketing, event management, esports, analytics, law, and communications. 

Throughout all of his courses, Levine said his goal is to give students a strong foundation in the sports business world no matter what area of the industry they choose to pursue. But, in an industry that can change as rapidly as the sports industry, he wants them to be able to take that knowledge a step further and be change agents in their field. 

“I hope they can go out and change the sport management industry or address an issue that relates to something that they’re passionate about,” he said. 

He cited issues such as expanding access and inclusion and addressing disparities affecting vulnerable populations as examples of areas where students can look beyond profit maximization and consider how they might help improve the sport industry as a whole. 

Levine also wants to see students gain hands-on experience in the field through experiential learning, internships, co-ops, and partnerships. He hopes to help provide some of these opportunities so students can really learn if this is the career for them. 

“This is an area that is not just a paycheck; it’s a passion, and it’s something that they can really pour themselves into,” he said.  

Levine hopes to pull students in even more through his energetic, conversational, and interactive teaching style.  

“I use a lot of current examples, and I think that in the classroom there should be discussion, there should be disagreement, but there should also be some humor, and students should be interested. I want students to feel comfortable engaging with the material rather than simply sitting there and listening to me talk,” he said. 

 

He wants students to learn from each other and their various perspectives as well. At the end of a course, he hopes to see them walk away with the ability to identify a concept in the real world, and be able to analyze, communicate, and take action.  

Levine sees how the sports industry is multi-faceted and connects to so many aspects of everyday life. But, most importantly, it’s about providing a space that lends itself to special moments that only sports can create.  

“Sports are about connection. They’re about belonging. They’re about putting people together regardless of their backgrounds,” he said.  

That connection and belonging is something Levine has also seen in the ethos and the mission of La Salle. He hopes to help play a small part in carrying on Saint John Baptist de La Salle’s teaching legacy as he enters the classroom. 

“La Salle has this mission and values that they’ve been following for over 160 years, and that shows that it’s not just talking the talk; they’ve got the track record, and I’m excited to see what sort of manifestations that creates for me, and how I can kind of be helpful in fulfilling that mission,” he said.  

— Meg Ryan, M.A. ’24