Lynda Wray Black - Faculty Athletics Representative - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Lynda Wray Black

Title:
Faculty Athletics Representative
Email:

Lynda Wray Black is the Bredesen Professor of Law at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and serves as the Faculty Athletics Representative to the NCAA (FAR) for the University of Memphis. As FAR, Professor Black serves as a liaison between the University and the Athletics Department, focusing on student-athlete welfare and development particularly with respect to the academic success and eligibility of the University’s student-athletes across 19 sports.

Professor Black joined the law school faculty in 2010 and was appointed as FAR in August of 2015. She has represented the University in numerous capacities, including serving on the advisory committees for NIL and UMADE, chairing the Contact Prohibition Appeals Committee, and serving as chair of the Faculty Athletics Committee from 2015 to 2022.

Black has been a frequent presenter on the changing legal environment governing collegiate athletics. In 2020, Black was recognized by the National Football Foundation in connection with the Tiger’s Quarterback Brady White being awarded the William V. Campbell Trophy. The American Conference honored Black in 2021 for her support of female athletes. Since 2022, Black has served on President Hardgrave’s President’s Council.

Black is the President of 1A FAR, the national organization of Faculty Athletics Representatives for Division I FBS Institutions. Since 2020, Black has represented the American Conference on the 1A FAR Board. From 2021 to 2023, Black served as the Chair of the American Conference FAR Committee. In 2022, she was appointed by the Commissioner of the American to the Conference Transformation Committee. She has served on the AD Finance Committee for the American Conference, as well as the Track and Field/Cross Country Oversight Committee. In 2025, she was appointed to the Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee for a two-year term.

Black was among the FARs who in 2016 established the American Conference Academic Consortium which awards grants to support research furthering student-athlete welfare. Each Spring since 2017, the Consortium has organized an Academic Symposium for the presentation of the funded research. In 2022, the Academic Symposium was hosted by the University of Memphis.

A native of Memphis, Black earned her bachelor’s degree in philosophy at the University of Memphis and her law degree from Yale Law School. Before returning to Memphis, she practiced law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City. She currently teaches Remedies, Secured Transactions, Nonprofit Organizations, and Sports Law at Memphis Law School.

Black and her husband, Steve, reside in Collierville, Tenn.