Desirée Moore’s career in sports began early: After starting gymnastics at age 5, she trained competitively until age 17, when a back injury curtailed her career. But she loved sports and movement, so she became a dancer, performing with the San Diego Dance Theater. After college, while preparing for the LSATs, Moore (JD ’05) spent a summer in Chicago participating in a dance residency and realized the Windy City was where she wanted to attend law school. She remembers thinking, “Chicago truly is the best city in the world. I should apply to law school here.” When she looked at schools, she says, “Loyola just felt like home. There’s no other way to describe it.”

Moore’s interest in sports never waned, so after she graduated from law school, she reached out to the then-CEO of USA Gymnastics (USAG) to ask about opportunities to work with the organization and stayed in touch with him over the years. In 2018, Moore was appointed chair of USAG’s Ethics and Grievance Committee, where she worked with a team to triage athlete grievances and helped the organization elevate and fortify athlete safety practices. “It was a wonderful opportunity to become involved in the sport again,” she says.

As a practicing attorney for nearly 20 years, Moore has worked closely with sports national governing bodies, professional clubs, teams, and leagues in crisis management, SafeSport and safeguarding matters, labor and employment work, and litigation. Now, as a partner at Venable LLP in Chicago, she coleads the firm’s sports law practice group, handling all manner of legal work for sports (and other) clients.

Sporting credentials

Noor Davis (JD ’25) also knew early on that he wanted to work in sports. After winning in 2011 the prestigious Butkus Award, given annually to the nation’s best high school linebacker, he played football at Stanford University on a team that made three Rose Bowl appearances. In 2017, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent.

He wanted to work in sports or law after his time on the field. “Loyola gave me the opportunity to do both,” Davis says. He was working as a fellow in the Big Ten Conference commissioner’s office when the COVID-19 pandemic made him realize it was time to broaden his credentials and attend law school. Davis knew he wanted to continue his Chicago-based Big Ten job, and while researching part-time programs, he discovered the School of Law’s Weekend JD program.

The more Davis got to know people at the School of Law, the more he realized it was the place for him. He was particularly drawn to how many diverse individuals were in leadership positions at the school. “A lot of people that looked like me were in those seats,” Davis says. “The diversity at the top, both gender and race, was something that drew me to Loyola and made me think, ‘This is the place where I should be able to grow in my legal career.’”

Persistence pays off

During law school, Ashley Beth (JD ’22) was involved with the sports law negotiation team and the Sports and Entertainment Law Society. A former high school soccer player, she helped plan networking events that attracted sports attorneys in the area, and as director of social programs with the Student Bar Association, she helped coordinate the Bar Review, a weekly night out at a local tavern that gave a group of high-achieving individuals a chance to blow off steam. At Loyola, Beth says she experienced a “spirit of support and collaboration,” adding, “Students and alumni are genuinely invested in one another’s success.” 

Beth landed her first role as a legal intern at the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), applying three years in arow. During the internship, she put her tax law specialty to work whenever tax matters arose and helped with visa and immigration issues for international players. A week before the bar exam, the league called Beth with an opening—although the role was in operations, not legal. After weeks of weighing other options, she accepted the job, which included a stint representing the league in collective bargaining agreement negotiations. A legal position opened up a few months later, and today, she is associate legal counsel at the NWSL.

Beth feels fulfilled at the NWSL, she says, engaging in “meaningful legal work that directly impacts the growth and integrity of a rapidly evolving league.”

Playing the field

All three alumni put the skills they learned at Loyola Law into their careers. As associate director of sports administration at the Big Ten Conference, Davis served as a liaison between head coaches, administrators, event managers, officials, television professionals, medical personnel, and athletes across five sports. He says what he learned through courses like sports and entertainment law, negotiations, contracts, and mediation helps him navigate the relationship-based business of sports, no matter where his career takes him. At press time, Davis had started a new job with the Chicago Bears as strategic executive partner in the Office of the President and CEO. “My childhood dream was to become an NFL president,” Davis says, “so the opportunity to learn and lead alongside an exceptional man and leader like Kevin Warren is a blessing.”

Beth focuses her time on supporting the commercial side of the NWSL. As someone who reviews contracts daily, she is grateful for her time in contract law and the fundamental lessons she learned in her sports law course. “I had a professor in sports law, Earl Caldwell, who was with me from 2L year through 3L, and I still talk to him today,” Beth says. “He brought in sports law professionals every week, which was incredibly valuable. Hearing their real-world experiences provided insight into the fast-paced nature of the field—where new opportunities and challenges can arise every day.”

Moore says she learned much more from her law school experience than just the coursework. She says her time at Loyola Law led to board positions (including on the School of Law’s Alumni Board of Governors) and inspired her to become a mentor toother students and graduates in the field, which includes forming networking groups of Chicago women in sports. “Any Loyola grad will always be a friend of mine and somebody that I’ll create opportunity for where I can,” says Moore. “I had a wonderful three years at Loyola. I got a wonderful job and other opportunities because of training and education I got at Loyola.” –Claire Zulkey (August 2025)