At a private dinner in Santa Monica, the UCLA coach shared insights on leadership and legal change.
Following the opening day of the 2025 Intellectual Property Institute on March 17, hosted by the USC Gould School of Law, planning committee members and speakers gathered for an intimate dinner at Hotel Casa del Mar in Santa Monica. The evening featured a conversation between Cori Close, head coach of UCLA Women’s Basketball, and Tamerlin Godley, Chair of the IP Institute.
One topic discussed was the power of trademarks and investment in the recent success of college women’s basketball. Remarkably, until 2022, women’s NCAA basketball was excluded from using the March Madness and Final Four trademarks. Thanks to legal advocacy and a 2021 investigation, women’s basketball was able to use the powerful NCAA branding for the first time. This combined with increased investment has resulted in an explosion in the popularity of Women’s Basketball with fans.
“We don’t want to slice the pie differently,” Close said. “We want the same opportunity to grow the pie.”
The discussion also offered candid insights on the legal and cultural shifts driven by name, image and likeness (NIL) policies in college sports. “In women’s basketball, athletes are often making more in college than they will in the WNBA,” Close noted, emphasizing the need for mission-driven programs within a professionalized model.
Among the examples she shared was a landmark $8–10 million docuseries, part of UCLA’s focus on market-value deals and brand partnerships. Close also addressed the upcoming AI-managed NIL clearinghouse tied to a recent settlement, calling it “a pivotal moment” that requires careful leadership to balance innovation with integrity.
Coach Close further shared her insights on organizational leadership. Her philosophy, she explained, is deeply rooted in mentorship from the late John Wooden. The legendary UCLA men’s coach met with her every other Tuesday for nearly 15 years.
“He told me, ‘You’re not coaching people’s jump shots, you’re coaching people’s hearts,’” she recalled. “‘But if you coach their hearts well, the jump shots usually follow.’”
USC Gould School of Law offers continuing legal education opportunities for professionals who want to learn and network with leading experts in their industries. A fixture of the Los Angeles legal community since 1948, USC Gould Continuing Legal Education hosts six annual conferences for professionals at every level to learn from, and network with, the biggest players in entertainment, estate planning, business, tax and intellectual property. To learn more, visit or subscribe at gould.usc.edu/cle – and follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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