Mike Meltser ’19
Oct. 10, 2019 — Combining his legal education with his experience as a sports radio host, 2019 University of Houston Law Center graduate Mike Meltser recently started a podcast that will explore legal developments and issues in the sports world.
"The intersection of sports and law happens more often than people think," Meltser said. "With some of the bigger sports stories that happen on a regular basis, there usually is some sort of legal component, especially recently and especially in the NFL. That's one of the reasons why I wanted to start the podcast."
The Mike Meltser Podcast made its debut on Aug. 29. Topics discussed by Meltser so far include sports gambling, trademark issues and California Senate Bill 206, legislation that allows student-athletes in California to profit from their name, image and likeness. He also records episodes analyzing each Houston Texans game. Upcoming episodes include analysis on a proposed new NFL collective bargaining agreement.
"About a year ago, the Supreme Court opened it up to where every single state can enact legislation to allow sports betting," Meltser said. "There are 13 states now that have legalized sports betting in some form. There are a lot of people who feel like that could revolutionize sports and their consumption, especially when it comes to live in-game betting and mobile betting.
"There have also been talks about the NFL collective bargaining agreement, and how the league wants to reach a new deal sooner rather than later. I don't think that really makes sense for the NFL Players Association, because I don't think the deal they got last time was that great. I'll also be doing episodes on whatever happens — the more sports law stories that come out, I'm going to do my best to get people on to provide analysis, insights and information."
During his time as a part-time Law Center student, Meltser took adjunct professor Jeff Miller’s course in sports law.
"It was a really good class," Meltser said. "I've gotten to know Jeff pretty well and he's become somebody who I've gone to for career advice a number of times. I really enjoyed the class. The thing that stood out about that is just how many areas of law sports law encompasses. Between contracts, torts, all these different stadium issues, Constitutional issues with the NCAA, and so on."
While Meltser had concerns about juggling fulltime employment as a host on SportsRadio 610 while attending law school, he said staying organized was key to his success.
“I'm not going to lie, before I began law school I probably have never been more terrified to start something in my life,” Meltser said. “I had heard the stories. I went in thinking that basically every hour of my day is going to be occupied.
“I created a schedule for myself going week-by-week. Monday-Thursday was class, and I went to campus almost every single Friday night to read. But then Friday-Sunday you have a chance to breathe and do your reading. Our assignments were very manageable. As long as you were working hard, you can get done what you have to get done."
Meltser completed his undergraduate education with a focus in broadcast journalism from Syracuse University in 2008, and previously worked for Sirius-XM Radio and ESPN Radio before moving to Houston. He was seven years into his career when he decided to pursue a legal education.
"I like learning," Meltser said. "I wanted to get another degree and spoke with a bunch of people. A law degree made sense. What always stood out to me was when people said that, 'when you go to law school, you learn to think like a lawyer.' That's something that really appealed to me.
“I was thinking at the time this might be a good fit. I wanted to try law school and it was the right time for it. I was wait-listed at first. I distinctly remember in the summer 2015 I received an email that said there was an opening at the Law Center. It was a sign to me. I had a good, natural feeling when the email came in. I accepted, and it made a lot of sense.”
The Mike Meltser Podcast can be heard on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
