Meet the Team
Ricky is a sports and entertainment agent and consultant. Ricky works with each consulting client, providing his relentless drive and tenacity to accomplish each established goal. Over the last five years, Ricky has been involved with event management and operation, facility management, branding and marketing, sponsorships and activation, market analysis and research, strategic planning, legal research and contract drafting. Additionally, Ricky has a special interest in the film, television and music industries given his experiences with the Greater Cleveland Film Commission and film executives in Los Angeles.
Ricky graduated summa cum laude from Lake Erie College with a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management, and received the Class of 2012 Academic Excellence Award for the School of Business. Ricky completed his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. Ricky has held positions at SPIRE Institute, an Olympic Training Site, and the Mid-American Conference. Additionally, Ricky serves as a consultant to sports law professor Peter Carfagna.
Ricky holds several positions with educational institutions:
Ricky graduated summa cum laude from Lake Erie College with a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management, and received the Class of 2012 Academic Excellence Award for the School of Business. Ricky completed his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. Ricky has held positions at SPIRE Institute, an Olympic Training Site, and the Mid-American Conference. Additionally, Ricky serves as a consultant to sports law professor Peter Carfagna.
Ricky holds several positions with educational institutions:
- Executive Director, Great Lakes Sports and Entertainment Law Academy;
- Co-Teacher (with Dr. Dale Sheptak) of Legal Aspects of Digital Media, Marketing and Analytics in Sports and Risk Management for Sport Facilities and Events: Legal Assessments, Policies and Procedures, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (beginning in Fall 2016)
- Co-Teacher (with Prof. Peter Carfagna) of Introduction to Sports Law for Non-lawyers: Current Issues Facing Professional and Pre-Professional Athletes, Harvard Extension School;
- Co-Teacher (with Prof. Peter Carfagna) of Representing the Professional Athlete MOOC, Case Western Reserve University School of Law;
- Adjunct Instructor of Legal Issues in Sports and Sport Marketing and Communications, Lake Erie College; and
- Sports Law Course Consultant, Ave Maria School of Law, University of Miami School of Law and Harvard Law School
Dale Sheptak provides a unique blend of sports industry, academic, and human resource management expertise.
Dale brings a wealth of knowledge in the sports industry with 20 years of experience in the start-up and administration of sports-related businesses. In addition to starting and owning two sports-related companies, he has consulted on the formation and re-engineering of many others ranging from youth sports to health clubs and athletic facilities. He has presented both nationally and internationally on the role of volunteers in sports organizations, event management and policy, and issues in youth sport.
As a sociologist, Dale focuses on the role of sport in education and how/if sport adds or detracts from the education system’s role of preparing young athletes for life and work. Dale also focuses on, what he calls, the “commodification of youth athletes” and how youth sport as a business model is changing the way we coach and develop young athletes. He is also active in researching spectator deviance, stadium crime, and alcohol policy.
Additionally, Dale has over 15 years of training and human resources experience, both as a consultant and as a practitioner, holding positions with a major consultancy firm in Northeast Ohio and management positions with a major national retailer, an international software development start-up, and a multinational banking corporation, he has been instrumental in creating and implementing successful skills development programs, supervisory and management programs, distance learning initiatives, and product specific programs.
Sheptak earned a Doctorate in Social Sciences and a Master of Science degree from the University of Leicester, England. He is an Associate Professor of Sport Management and Sport Sociology at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio.
Dale brings a wealth of knowledge in the sports industry with 20 years of experience in the start-up and administration of sports-related businesses. In addition to starting and owning two sports-related companies, he has consulted on the formation and re-engineering of many others ranging from youth sports to health clubs and athletic facilities. He has presented both nationally and internationally on the role of volunteers in sports organizations, event management and policy, and issues in youth sport.
As a sociologist, Dale focuses on the role of sport in education and how/if sport adds or detracts from the education system’s role of preparing young athletes for life and work. Dale also focuses on, what he calls, the “commodification of youth athletes” and how youth sport as a business model is changing the way we coach and develop young athletes. He is also active in researching spectator deviance, stadium crime, and alcohol policy.
Additionally, Dale has over 15 years of training and human resources experience, both as a consultant and as a practitioner, holding positions with a major consultancy firm in Northeast Ohio and management positions with a major national retailer, an international software development start-up, and a multinational banking corporation, he has been instrumental in creating and implementing successful skills development programs, supervisory and management programs, distance learning initiatives, and product specific programs.
Sheptak earned a Doctorate in Social Sciences and a Master of Science degree from the University of Leicester, England. He is an Associate Professor of Sport Management and Sport Sociology at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio.
Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Drew graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, and played college football at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Currently, Drew is pursuing a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law with a Business Law Concentration, and is in his final year. Drew is President of the Entertainment and Sports Law Association at Cleveland-Marshall. Previously, Drew served as a Teaching Assistant for the Great Lakes Sports and Entertainment Law Academy, as well as interned for the Case Western Reserve Athletic Department and Office of the General Counsel. In addition to his work with Sixth City, Drew is also serving as a sports law teaching assistant for professor Peter Carfagna, former General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer of IMG.
