Gil Fried is a tenured Full Professor at the University of West Florida and chair of the Administration & Law Department, which encompasses legal studies, construction management, sport management, and public administration.  He started at UWF in 2021.  Prior to his appointment at UWF, Professor Fried was a Professor in the Pompea College of Business at the University of New Haven for 21 years and retired with the designation of Professor Emeritus in 2021.  

Professor Fried is a specialist in sport law, finance, and facility management. He received his masters in sport management and his law degree from The Ohio State University. He has written over 13 books on sport risk management, sport facility management, sport analytics, esports, and sport finance. One of the books he wrote is the Academy for Venue Safety and Security (AVSS) textbook used by the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM).  His other textbooks are used in over 140 universities in the United States and have been translated into Chinese, Russian, and Korean.  He lectures nationally on financial risk management, facility risk management, crowd management/venue safety, and sport safety. His books and lecturing are supplemented with writing numerous industry articles.  He has published over 400 articles focused on facility and law related concerns.  Besides writing for others, he is also the Editor of Sports Facilities & the Law newsletter.  He is regularly quoted in industry publications and periodicals.  In 2011 he was awarded the prestigious Betty van der Smissen Leadership Award from the Sport Recreation and Law Association (SRLA) for outstanding contributions to the field of sport law education.  In 2012 he was awarded the Sport Management Outstanding Achievement Award by the National Association of Sports and Physical Education (NASPE).  This award recognizes professionals who have made outstanding contributions and provided leadership in the field of sport management. 

Professor Fried coordinates the Patron Management Institute and developed their Certificate in Patron Management Program (CPM).  The CPM program is the only multi-disciplinary training program developed through and with industry leaders and designed to ensure participants learn and internalize risk management best practices.  He has handled a large number of sport/music industry liability cases and has worked as an expert witness in various cases from stadium stampedes to foul ball cases.  Some of his cases have involved significant national attention such as the Camp Randall stampede (University of Wisconsin), the Aramark Meadowland drunk driving case, the Wal-Mart Black Friday crowd case, Stow assault case, and the basketball crowd rush case (Kaye) in Phoenix. He also serves on several board of directors of sport related businesses and organizations.  He has an active consulting practice called Gil Fried & Associates, LLC and has several major clients from corporations to insurance companies.