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 English, 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.”
It did not matter what the question was. That was the answer. It became a standing joke in our house and something I leaned into more as the years went on.
At some point, I thought to myself, 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 for a spouse, a kid, or a teammate to give to someone who still gets introduced as “the guy who used to play ball.”
So that was the original idea. Merch. T-shirts. Hoodies. A little tongue-in-cheek pride in something that was once such a huge part of our identity.
But like most good ideas, it evolved.
As NIL became a reality, I started working more closely with student athletes and colleges, talking to athletes about financial literacy, money decisions, and life after sports. I also began networking with and interviewing former student athletes on my platform, FinancialLiteracyForStudentAthletes.com. The conversations were not just about money. They were about what people wished they had known earlier. About mistakes. About identity. About the mental side of leaving the game.
I noticed something important. A lot of really good people are doing meaningful work with current athletes, especially around life after sports. The mental health side. The transition. The loss of structure. The importance of networking, mentors, and relationships once the locker room is gone.
Former Student Athlete became the natural place for all of that to live.
What started as a joke and a shirt idea turned into a platform. A place for stories, education, humor, honesty, and community. A place that still sells T-shirts and hoodies, but also acknowledges a much bigger truth.
At some point, the jersey comes off for everyone.
Former Student Athlete is about helping people understand what comes next, while still being able to laugh about where we came from.