UC San Diego

Richard Freer
Baseball and Men’s Tennis
1975 – Muir - Sociology

When Richard Freer (’75) was five years old, his mother told him he was going to be a lawyer. The notion stuck with him growing up, and by the time he reached high school, he was certain that he wanted to pursue a career in law. His mother’s prediction ultimately came true: Freer is now an esteemed law professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. As sociology major at UC San Diego with hopes of entering law school, Freer also made the time to be a double sport Triton student-athlete, competing for two years on the tennis team and two on the baseball team while working hard in the classroom in order to achieve his lifelong goal. 

Freer is a San Diego native who spent his high school years at Point Loma High School. He had a live-in coach while growing up: his father, who happened to be the tennis coach at San Diego’s Francis Parker High School. Freer and his brother grew up playing tennis, but he also found a love for baseball. He was lucky enough to never have to choose between the two, thanks to the support of his family: “My dad, mom, and brother were always there for me,” coaching him in both sports and always cheering him on. Freer felt lucky that his passion for these two sports didn’t have to end in high school and that he could continue playing throughout college under the great coaches Lyle Olsen (baseball) and Tad Yamaguchi (tennis).

There is no specific major that is required of an aspiring law student, but Freer discovered that he had a passion for sociology. He credits his greatest inspiration, the late UC San Diego professor Bennett Berger, for peaking his interest in the subject. Freer took every class taught by Berger at UC San Diego and completed two independent studies with him. He “convinced me that I wanted to be an academic,” Freer says. So when he finally began law school at UCLA, his ultimate objective was to become a professor and spend his career teaching, researching, and writing books and papers.

After several years of practicing law at a large firm in Los Angeles, Freer achieved his goal and was hired as a professor at the prestigious Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he has been working for 31 years. He is very proud of his university, which US News ranked the 19^th best law school in the United States for 2014. He specializes in civil procedure, and has written 16 books.

The time Freer spent playing tennis and baseball at UC San Diego taught him vital skills for his career. He stresses the importance of hard work, “especially in preparation—the way you practice is the way you will play (on game day).” The same principle applies in the courtroom: “If you’re going into a courtroom, you better prepare hard. Cases are won before the court date starts.”

This year, Freer faced a major challenge: he was diagnosed with cancer. Immediately following the diagnosis, after a lifetime of being injury-free, he broke his foot playing tennis - three days before his operation to remove the cancer. Fortunately, the surgery was successful, his foot is recovering nicely, and Freer’s outlook on life has never been more optimistic: “I literally feel that I have a new lease on life,” he says, “I have been given more time and I want to make it count.” He refuses to take anything for granted, and plans to continue developing his personal and professional skills to the best of his abilities:  “You can always be better—a better teacher, scholar, friend, husband, father. Every night when my head hits the pillow, I ask myself if I’m better at any of these things than I was when I woke up that day.”

One thing is certain: Richard Freer is determined to get the most he can out of life. He has a successful career as a law professor, two children with his wife of 36 years (a fellow UC San Diego alumna), and continues to stay active playing the sports he loves. He will never stop striving for great things: “I don’t want to leave anything on the table.”

Alumni Spotlight is written by student-athlete Lauren Iannetta (’17), a history major from Eleanor Roosevelt College. She is a second year on the women’s rowing team. If you are interested in sharing your Triton Alumni Athlete story, please contact Danielle Boyle Melman at daboyle@ucsd.edu.