By Aaron West
Editor’s Note: Returning to the campus where he earned both his journalism and law degrees, Tullos Wells is wrapping up his first semester teaching at UT in years, as a lecturer in the Department of Advertising leading the course “Legal Issues for Advertising and Public Relations in Sports,” a class he’ll continue this fall. He is a senior partner at law firm Bracewell & Giuliani, and serves as the chief legal officer for the San Antonio Spurs. Our Campus writer Aaron West sat down with Wells to find out what the University was like when he was student, spending time in Austin and his role as the Spurs’ general counsel.
Our Campus: What’s it like being back at UT?
Tullos Wells: When I agreed to do this and I went over to that nasty little building to get my key — which I’ve now lost — it was hilarious, because I went in and told them who I am and that I need my key. And they came back and they said, “I’m sorry, you haven’t returned your key from 1974 yet.” I said, “How on Earth do you guys know that?” ’74 was pre-computers almost. They’re not doing it any differently than they were in ’74. I taught communications law here, and what’s different is basically everything. The students are so much brighter. Obviously they have access to so much more information. It’s been great. It’s more challenging this time around. I’m two or three generations removed from my students.
My experience and understanding is that you guys today are sailing into much more difficult waters than my generation was. Information and technology is moving so rapidly. The job market is shifting so rapidly.
What’s most interesting is from a comm[unication] perspective is that several years ago — I’ve stayed close to the University — several people have said, “Oh my gosh, journalism students can’t find jobs.” The experience has been very different than that; there’s so many different outlets today. Even though newspapers may be [in decline], there’s still a thirst for content to fulfill all of these media outlets that we have today.
Photo by Stephanie Bathurst
OC: Is it everything you expected coming back?
Wells: No, but it’s been as rewarding as I hoped it would be. I’m not as good at it as I hoped to be. Hopefully I’ll be better next semester.
The biggest hurdle for me has been remembering that people in my class think of the Gulf War the same way I thought of the Civil War — there’s just such a generational difference between someone who’s my age and these kids. But I have a young daughter so it makes it a little easier. But the most interesting thing is that you guys retain data very differently than the way we used to. If you look at my students, and I spy on them all the time, they all have their laptops open on the pretension that they’re taking notes. And at any given time I’m guessing they have three or four screens open — one of which is Facebook, one where they’re taking notes and one where they’re looking at the Web — so it’s this continuous partial attention that makes the biggest difference.
OC: What changes have you noticed in the field of communications law, which you previously taught?
Wells: Communications law, when I was teaching it, had to do with trademark and copyright and First Amendment issues. A lot of that is still present, but there are so many other issues on top of that. And the First Amendment issues are very different. With sports and media law or entertainment law, as much as anything, I’m trying to pinpoint what the industry is really like, what the sports industry is really like. And then if you’re going to be a communications major, how you fit into that industry.
I don’t care if you like sports or don’t like sports, all of you are in the business of sports in one way or another. People seem to have some interest in seeing how this business really operates and how law impacts that. So that’s what I hope to accomplish — that [the students] walk out of this class and have a better sense of how [the] sports [business] operates and how law impacts everything that happens with it.
OC: How has campus itself changed?
Wells: It’s a busy campus. It’s a bustling campus. It’s a crowded campus. The ambience that the school had in the ’60s and ’70s was gone with the building boom. … So it’s not as physically attractive as it used to be, but you can’t help but love the energy in this place. It’s a physically very different place but a wonderful campus.
OC: Have there been any memorable moments or something a student has said or done that has stuck out?
Wells: I’ve had a number of guest speakers, and watching the students interact with the speakers has probably been the most fun because many of them really are interested in what these folks have to say. These men and women are really good about engaging. … It’s an impressive group.
OC: Could you expand on your duties as the San Antonio Spurs’ general counsel?
Wells: [It has] everything to do with any business operation, all of the things that go into that business — contracts, care and feeding of the organization, development. [I deal with] issues with respect to the NBA and the [National Basketball] Player’s Association with respect to sponsors and advertisers and players. I try to have very little interaction with players. Some are like my adopted kids, some of them I don’t know very well.
OC: What is the most enjoyable part of the job for you?
Wells: It’s show business. It’s fun business. We’re blessed to have a really good organization … And what we do makes a huge difference in the lives of San Antonians. We’re a big part of that community — what we invest in, what we spend our time in makes a big difference in the lives of people in that community. We can fly back from a playoff game, get back at 2 or 3 in the morning … and [there are] 2,500-5,000 people at the airport glad to see us when we get home.
Some days are very exciting and some days I’m getting people out of jury duty.
OC: Was it always an aspiration of yours to end up in entertainment or sports law or in the capacity you are now?
Wells: No. I went to law school wanting to be a writer. I have a degree in journalism from here and a law degree from here, but I absolutely wanted to be a journalist. I went ‘bad’ somewhere along the way. I became a communications lawyer and then wandered into being a trial lawyer, and lots of other things, and then stumbled into this about 20 years ago. It’s fun.
OC: What made you want to go into law after graduating with a journalism degree?
Wells: Have you ever heard of a guy named Dan Quayle? He was George H.W. Bush’s vice president. And when he was put on a ticket, he was a disaster, because he just wasn’t ready for prime time. [Quayle’s] first press officer was … a friend of mine who said, “Tullos, if you want to be a writer, you need to specialize. I’m doing law, and you oughtta do law; it’s great.” … He was the one who talked me into going to law school, a guy named Dave Beckwith.
… You know, I’ve had a chance to do things most people never get to do in their careers. There’s only 30 guys in the country who get to do what I do in professional sports.
OC: How do you divide up your time between San Antonio and the Spurs and coming here?
Wells: Well I have other clients besides the Spurs. It’s hectic. I have not had as much time to spend in Austin as I wanted to. When I agreed to do this, I had wanted to spend a couple nights [a week] here. [My law firm has] an office here as well, so it would have been easy, but I haven’t had a chance to do that as much. I love being in Austin.