Why I Created Former Student Athlete
Former Student Athlete started as a joke.
I have a very dry sense of humor, and when my daughters were really young, before they could barely speak, I had one response for almost everything.
“Dad, I’m hungry.”
“Well… you know I was a D1 athlete.”
“Dad, what time is it?”
“I’m a D1 athlete.”
“Dad, can you turn on the TV?”
“You know I was a D1 athlete.”
It did not matter what the question was. That was the answer.
My wife Cassie, my oldest daughter Peyton, and my youngest Ryan have heard it more times than they would like to admit. I looked at it as repetition. A learning experience. Making sure they understood exactly who they were dealing with.
Every opportunity… I took it.
As the years went on, the responses got better.
Peyton now hits me with “close the yearbook, dad,” and Cassie reminds me, “you haven’t played a down in 30 years.”
Ryan just shakes her head at this point.
Super hurtful… I know.
But that is really where this started.
At some point I thought, there have to be other former Division I athletes out there with the same sense of humor. And how is there not a shirt that simply says “Former D1 Athlete”?
It felt like the perfect gift. Something a spouse, a kid, or a former teammate could give to someone who still somehow gets introduced as “the guy who used to play.”
So what started as a joke turned into an idea.
T-shirts. Hoodies. A little humor around something that used to define us, but now lives in the past.
The Shift
Then NIL became a bigger part of college athletics, and I started working more closely with student athletes.
My lane is financial literacy. I know that. That is where I bring the most value.
But those conversations did not stay there.
Athletes started asking bigger questions.
“What happens after this?”
“What should I be doing now to prepare?”
“What does life actually look like when this is over?”
At the same time, I was interviewing and connecting with former student athletes through my podcast at www.financialliteracyforstudentathletes.com. Many of them had already gone through that transition and were now helping others do the same.
That is when it clicked.
This needed to be bigger than “Former D1 Athlete.”
More inclusive. More real. More aligned with what people were actually going through.
That is where Former Student Athlete came from.
What It Is Today
Yes, the merch is still here.
“Former D1 Athlete.”
A little D2 and D3… very little… because, well… you know.
I’m not going to say it out loud.
There is also “Retired Student Athlete,” “Retired College Athlete,” and other variations that all point back to the same idea.
At some point, the structure goes away.
The schedule.
The locker room.
The identity.
And that transition looks different for everyone.
The Bigger Vision
Former Student Athlete is meant to be a hub.
A community.
I know my lane is finance. That is where I spend most of my time, helping people make better decisions with money, especially athletes navigating NIL and beyond.
But what stood out to me was this.
Money is only one part of the transition.
There are former athletes dealing with identity loss.
There are former athletes dealing with physical wear and tear.
There are former athletes trying to figure out how to translate what they learned in sports into careers.
There are former athletes who feel a lack of structure for the first time in their lives.
And there are also former athletes who have figured it out and are doing incredible things.
This platform is meant to bring all of that together.
The goal is to have voices beyond mine.
People in mental health who understand the transition.
People in physical health who understand the long-term impact of sports.
HR professionals who understand hiring and how athletes fit into the workforce.
Professionals across industries who have lived this and can help bridge the gap.
Because this transition is not just financial.
It is personal.
The Point
At some point, the jersey comes off for everyone.
Former Student Athlete exists to help make sure that when it does, you are not starting from scratch.
You are building from experience.
And ideally…
You are not doing it alone.