The Marquette Wire had the opportunity to sit down with Marquette University Law School alumnus Lance Spaude (’16), who works as an Ultimate Fighting Championship agent for Iridium Sports Agency in Las Vegas. Spaude was asked a variety of questions regarding his journey into the sports industry, what it is like working with star athletes and how he finds success in the dynamic and competitive sports industry.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
For those who don’t know who you are, can you tell me a bit about yourself?
My name is Lance Spaude. I’m a partner with the Iridium Sports Agency. We are one of the largest sports representation agencies in combat sports and currently represent over 100 athletes in the UFC. So, that’s what I do, as far as my job goes. I’m located in Las Vegas and have been in Las Vegas for, on and off, nine years now, I think almost 10. That’s the 1,000-foot overview.
What are your passions? Why are you working in the career that you are in, and what interested you in that career?
I’ve always had an interest in sports from a very young age, competing in it and playing in it up until the collegiate level, where I actually transitioned from the very traditional sports that you would have in Wisconsin. I grew up playing football, basketball and baseball. When I got to college, I actually started training in mixed martial arts, and that’s where I gained my passion for that sport specifically. From the moment that I started training and competing as an undergrad, when I was going to [college], it just grew from there and that’s where I fell in love with the sport, fell in love with the athletes and fell in love with the dedication that that it takes to do well in the sport. That really started with my passion for mixed martial arts and for combat sports in general, and then it’s kind of always built on it from there. I’ve been involved in the sport in a number of different capacities. I started out as a competitor, then had the opportunity to go to law school at Marquette, where I continued to pursue that passion. While I was getting my law degree and was a member of the sports law program, I was able to do an internship with the UFC. I did a semester at [the University of Nevada, Las Vegas] while I did that, but I was still involved in the combat sports world. And then, throughout that, it has always been something I’ve been drawn to. I always had an interest in working in the sports field, and even more specifically, in the combat sports space.
Could you always tell that you wanted to go into a law-related career, or was that something that developed over time as you got into MMA?
My dad is actually an attorney based in Appleton, Wisconsin. So, I grew up always having an inclination that I would end up going to law school and end up being a practicing attorney. He does personal injury and workers’ compensation. I had anticipated that at some point in my life I was going to go back and work at my dad’s firm and make it a father-son law firm. He never really wanted that for me. I don’t think that he really had any interest in me even going into the legal field. It’s not something he pushed on me, it’s just something that, naturally, I gravitated to, with my relationship with my dad being pretty close. Law school was always on my mind. The sports side of things, I really didn’t have. I enjoyed sports, and there was always this idea like, ‘Oh, I’d love to be Jerry Maguire, I’d love to be a sports agent.’ But it wasn’t necessarily anything that was driving my decisions up until I started looking at law schools. I started considering, what would a career look like post-law school? What would that be? I don’t think I actually thought that I would end up working in the sports field. But I thought, ‘If I’m going to go to law school, I might as well pursue something that I think would be of interest.’ So, I would say that started to develop when I was looking at law schools to attend. I always planned on going to law school but really anticipated doing personal injury work or workers’ compensation for my father, or potentially working at another firm based in Wisconsin. I think the sports side of things developed as I started competing and training in combat sports, but at the same time, looking at what law school I was going to go to and what my post-law school career would look like.
Tell me a little bit more now about your time at Marquette Law School. What was that experience like for you, and what were some opportunities you were provided with, especially in the realm of sports law?
Attending Marquette Law School was great. The big thing that was a huge benefit for me was Marquette’s connection with both the local community as far as Milwaukee and southern Wisconsin goes, but additionally in the sports context, the connection with the sports community. I got a great legal education, very standard, what you would expect in a law school. But the more important thing for me was the experiences that I had my first summer. I got to work for Direct Supply, which was a great experience. It’s a great company based in Milwaukee. Then after that, I had a number of internship opportunities, the most prominent probably being with the UFC. That was something that the Marquette sports law program helped facilitate. And then Marquette Law School was very encouraging to me of going to a different school, doing a semester there and getting that experience. So, I think one of the most beneficial things about the Marquette Law School, and specifically the sports law program, is their effort to get you engaged in opportunities outside of just the classroom. I think that really paid huge dividends for me post-law school. Even something as simple as my first job out of law school, working for the NCAA, was facilitated through the relationships and the experiences I had outside of the classroom provided by the Marquette Law School and the sports law program. Simple things like that, I really think go a long way. In my experience, that is a huge strength that Marquette Law has when compared to other law schools.
I completely understand that. Across the entire school, too, I think the opportunities they provide are kind of incredible, especially in the athletics world. So, that definitely doesn’t surprise me at all.
I didn’t go to Marquette for undergrad, so I can only speak to my law school experience, but they do such a great job of keeping those strong connections, specifically with the sports community. The law school has alumni that work for the Bucks, alumni that work for the Brewers. They do a really good job of cultivating a sense of community. Milwaukee is a ‘small, big city.’ It’s a larger city, but it really has a small feel to it. I’ve had the fortune to live in a number of different cities, and there really is a sense of community in Milwaukee that’s different from other places, and Marquette does a great job of building on that community.
Now, switching gears a bit, you work with some of the biggest names in the UFC and you mentioned earlier that the agency represents over 100 of those stars. Can you tell me what it’s like working with some of those big names in the UFC?
I think it can be incredibly rewarding and incredibly challenging at the same time. Any time you’re working with individual athletes, the demands can vary from day to day. You’re dealing with personalities, you’re dealing with high-stress and high-pressure situations. So, it’s a very challenging job, especially when you’re dealing with different individuals. One client might have very different expectations and different needs than another. But the rewarding part of that is you get to work with these athletes, these individuals, and you get to be a small part of their dream, and you get to be a small part of their journey to achieve in the sport that they chose to pursue. So, the rewarding part is when they have success, you also are part of that success. It’s, like I said, both challenging and rewarding at the same time.
Speaking of that challenge and reward, the sports industry is high-risk, high-reward. It’s very competitive and ever-changing, compared to a more static work environment. How are you able to navigate that dynamic work environment and be successful in your position?
I think the important thing, at least in my experience, is really having a passion for the sport and having a shared goal with my athletes. It’s very challenging, it’s extremely competitive, and it can be stressful to the point where at times it can almost be debilitating. But if you truly care about the people that you work with, and you truly believe in the work that you’re doing, I think that really fuels you to do your best. One thing I will say is that I’ve worked in other industries, and as you mentioned, the sports industry can be significantly more stressful due to the competitive nature, due to the fact that wins and losses can have huge impacts on the individuals involved. You’re constantly talking about people losing their jobs or potentially losing something that they worked their entire life for and they have to shift into a new career. It has its own stresses that weigh on you, almost to a personal extent, where it’s hard to detach the business from the personal side of things. But that’s also what fuels me to work so hard and to put everything I can into what I do for my athletes and my clients because of how personal it is. So, it’s a double-edged sword, but it’s unique compared to any other industry I’ve ever worked in.
I saw that you wrote a piece called “Time to Act” regarding legislation for concussions in youth athletics. Can you tell me more about when you wrote that, as well as what sparked you to write and what the piece is about?
I wrote that when I was in law school. I believe I started it my [second] year, and it was something where the law school always encourages you to write these pieces and submit them to the various journals for potential publication. It’s really part of the educational process of Marquette Law School and it’s great because you get to focus on a subject that you’re passionate about, really delve into the research and start drafting arguments forward. It’s a really helpful tool as far as growing, as far as developing you into a critically thinking attorney. My interest in it is that I’ve always had an interesting relationship with concussions. I work in combat sports where concussions are extremely prominent. I grew up playing football. I sustained several concussions myself. It’s something that I’ve always been concerned about, and it’s something I’ve always had an interest in mitigating. How do we continue to participate in the sports that we love, but at the same time minimize the risks, specifically when it comes to head trauma? That’s probably the one thing that you can’t repair. You can always have knee surgery. You can have shoulder surgery. But to this day, they still don’t know how to counteract the damage that can be done from head trauma. So, I’ve actually researched a number of different pieces regarding concussions, and it just so happened that on that project, I had initially worked for an agency that was involved in the space of youth concussions, reducing the impact of concussions in youth athletics. That’s when it initially sparked. My interest was seeing what this company was doing, and that’s when I began researching what could be done, in a legal sense, to help prevent or minimize the dangers that come with participation in youth athletics in regards to concussions and head trauma.
That’s a fascinating topic. I’m interested to know more about it.
It’s a great concern. I would say I’ve only become more concerned about it now that I work in the combat sports space. I’m working with these athletes, and you can see the cognitive decline. There’s a number of individuals and entities involved in our sport that are there to help protect the athletes, but ultimately, it’s the athletes’ decision on when to decide enough is enough. There’s always questions of, ‘How can you encourage that decision to be made at the right time?’ whether that’s legally, whether that’s based on personal relationships you have with the athlete. It’s something that I’ve always had an interest in and something that has been consistent throughout my career, starting from an [athlete], all the way to where I am now. It’s one thing that’s always been a part of my discussions with athletes and my shared experiences with those athletes.
What advice would you offer to any Marquette Law School students right now who are wanting to go down a similar career path as you, whether they’re in the sports law program or they just know they want to work in sports law?
The advice initially would be to get involved. I think a lot of people are so hesitant and so afraid of failure that they never start, and I think starting is the hardest part. Whatever that may be, whether it’s an internship, whether it’s volunteering, if that’s the space you want to work in and it’s something you’re passionate about, I think the most important step is starting. I think the second-most important thing that you can do is be persistent. You’re going to have a lot of failures, you’re going to have a lot of ‘no’s,’ you’re going to have a lot of doors that get shut on you. But if you’re persistent and you’re passionate and you do good work, eventually it’ll work out for you. So, I would say the two most important things would be to start, and then once you start, just be persistent regardless of the outcome. Don’t focus on individual outcomes, focus on the process, being persistent and doing good work. I probably applied for over 100 jobs in the sports field, and I got interviews for maybe five of them. Maybe I had one yes, and I ended up working in that job. It’s just the nature of an incredibly competitive field, but if you are persistent and passionate, I think it’s something that can work out for whoever is seeking to work in the space, for sure.
Marquette’s motto is ‘Be the Difference,’ to go out and serve others and make a difference in the world. How would you say you aspire to be the difference in the world?
I think I’m really fortunate in the position I’m in because my job allows me to have a significant impact, and to essentially be a difference, both on an individual level and on a greater industry level. I had the opportunity to not only work with, but educate a lot of my clients, and work with individuals that, some of the things that I can teach them or we can learn together, can go on and impact the people that they work with and the students they might have in the sport. It’s really beneficial in the sense that I’m helping an individual, but I also know that if I help that individual and I do it right, that they’re then going to pay it forward and they’re going to start helping others to be a difference and build on that. So, I’m really fortunate in the sense that my job allows me to be a difference. Sometimes, people in certain positions look at ‘be the difference’ as community work or volunteering outside of their nine-to-five, which is great, and I would encourage everyone to do that. But I really got lucky in the sense that I can make a major difference in a number of people’s lives just by doing good work in the position I’m in and by educating the people that I work with, working to have a better industry and a better sport through my day-to-day interactions with people. So, I’m really fortunate in that regard.
Is there anything else you want to add?
We’ve covered quite a bit. Going back to the one piece that I had mentioned before, just to reiterate it, when I was a law student, there were just a lot of ‘no’s’ and a lot of failures. I wanted to work in this space, I was passionate about it, I thought I could do good work in the athlete representation side of things, but also in sports in general. My message to any students pursuing that is to be unapologetically persistent and focused. You’re going to have a lot of doors that are not going to be open for you and there are going to be other opportunities. There are going to be opportunities for you to take positions elsewhere and there are going to be other things that might look like, ‘Oh, I could go down this road and everything would be fine.’ But if you’re truly passionate about something, you should stick to it and go after it, regardless of any negative outcomes that may happen in your pursuit of it.
This story was written by Mia Thurow. She can be reached at [email protected].
