Robert A. Boland

Partner, Hospitality, Leisure & Sports Industry Sector Co-Chair

A nationally known sports attorney, Robert "Bob" Boland joined Shumaker in 2022, after a five-year tenure as Athletics Integrity Officer at Penn State. The Athletics Integrity Officer role, a first-of-its-kind role in the nation, was created as result of a consent decree between Penn State, the NCAA, and Big Ten, in the wake of the Sandusky scandal. Bob oversaw Penn State's now $220 million dollar in annual revenue athletic department with direct reporting lines to the president and board of trustees in its recovery from what was the greatest collegiate athletic crisis in the history of higher education. In addition to safeguarding athletic integrity post Sandusky, Boland conducted significant investigations, led education, training and monitoring efforts to support compliance with federal and state laws as well as NCAA and Big Ten policies and overall best practice.

During his time at Penn State, Bob also helped shape institutional response to developing issues including: the legalization of sports wagering; the FBI investigation into college basketball; the Varsity Blues admissions scandal; Title IX and SafeSport issues; and the implementation of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policies.

With over 25 years of specialized experience, Bob's practice centers on all aspects of collegiate and professional sports as well as related leisure and hospitality engagements.

Bob has balanced a career in academia along with practical engagement as an attorney and consultant. He also currently serves as a member of the faculty at Seton Hall University Law School where he helps anchor a concentration in Gaming, Hospitality, Entertainment and Sports Law, at this nationally ranked law school that mirrors his work at Shumaker.

A player agent for over a decade, Bob has negotiated more than 100 playing, coaching, and endorsement agreements across a variety of sports. His sports law insights are widely sought by media outlets, including ESPN, ABC, CNN, Sports Illustrated, MSNBC, The Associated Press, USA Today, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

His academic and professional resume also includes:

Leadership roles in nationally ranked sports management and sports law programs at Ohio University (2015-2017), where he headed its renowned Master of Sports Administration program which was ranked #1 in the world during each of his two years leading that program and as the founding sports faculty member and Academic Chair of the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management at New York University (2001-2015)
Teaching appointments at Penn State Law and School of Labor and Employment Relations
Numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals such as Marquette Sports Law Review and as co-author of The Evolution of NIL in Collegiate Sports, chapter in The Law of Professional and Amateur Sports treatise, Uberstine, G. editor, Clark, Boardman, Callahan, publishers, 2025
Advising a range of teams and players as the principal of Boland Sports Practice Group, LLC, including several franchise acquisition groups bidding for National Football League (NFL) teams
Leading an NFL head coaching search for the Cleveland Browns and two college conference realignment reviews
Serving as leader of a 2022 review of high performance (Olympic and World Cup) teams for Rugby Canada
Winning a successful preliminary injunction against the NCAA in Clayton v. National Collegiate Athletic Association and Manhattan College in New York State Supreme Court (Bronx County) in 2024