UMO Announces Fall 2025 Sports Management Speaker Series
September 18, 2025
Contact: Rhonda Jessup, Director of Public Relations
MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – The University of Mount Olive (UMO) will present its Fall 2025 Sports Management Speaker Series featuring distinguished experts in athletics, law, and coaching. The series will provide students, faculty, and community members with valuable opportunities to engage with professionals whose work has shaped national conversations in their fields.
“This year’s series brings some of the most impactful voices in college sports and coaching to our campus,” said Dr. Tony Franklin, Professor of Sports Management at UMO. “Each speaker offers valuable perspectives on athlete rights, leadership, and the evolving legal and cultural dynamics of sports. We are thrilled to share these conversations with our students and community.”
The series will begin on October 2, at 12:30 PM in Southern Bank Auditorium with attorney Richard Ford, a former Duke University basketball captain who went on to become a litigation attorney, NCAA policy expert, and co-founder/CEO of DYK Media. A passionate advocate for student-athletes, Ford is also the host of the BigAmateurismpodcast and has taken cases as far as the U.S. Supreme Court. He will discuss the shifting landscape of college athletics, athlete rights, and the future of the NCAA. “His insights are not only timely, they’re essential,” Franklin noted. “After hearing his keynote at the National College Sport Research Institute, I knew we had to bring him to UMO.”
On October 7 at 9:30 AM in Southern Bank Auditorium, legendary wrestling coach Bill Lam will share lessons from his three decades leading the University of North Carolina’s wrestling program, where he coached numerous All-Americans and national champions. Named ACC Coach of the Year ten times, Lam was also honored as National Coach of the Year and Amateur Wrestling’s Man of the Year. He is the author of Overtime: The Three Periods of a Champion and What Comes After and founder of Wrestling with Life, a Christian nonprofit that continues his mission of developing leaders on and off the mat. Lam will be introduced by longtime UMO guest speaker Barry Joyce, UNC Facilities Administrator and former Intercollegiate Athletics Executive.
The final event in the series will feature attorney Travis Albea on November 6 at 12:30 PM in Henderson 115. A partner at Michael Best, Albea advises businesses, executives, and investors on mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, and contracts. He also represents faith-based and tax-exempt organizations, offering guidance on governance and operations. Known for his proactive approach and community leadership, Albea has been involved with Opendoor Church, the Pitt-Greenville Chamber, and Toys for Tots, and was recently a keynote speaker at East Carolina University’s Research 2 Commercialization Conference.
All events are free of charge and open to students, faculty, alumni, and the public. For more information, contact Dr. Tony Franklin at AFranklin@umo.edu.
The University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. It was founded by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists. For more information, visit www.umo.edu.
