via: http://business.financialpost.com/2013/04/26/football-trio-trade-athletic-dreams-for-business-ambition/

For young athletes who dream of becoming the next CFL great, winning the Grey Cup is usually seen as the ultimate goal. Seldom do pro-athlete hopefuls consider what happens after the victory cries have faded.

But that’s just where Fabio Filice breaks the mold. A week before his 24^th birthday, the native of Hamilton, Ont. made his CFL debut with the Tiger-Cats. Three years later, he found himself celebrating a Grey Cup win as an offensive lineman for the Calgary Stampeders.

Most would have seen the Grey Cup win as the pinnacle of his career, but for Mr. Filice, it was only the beginning.

In 2007, while playing for the Toronto Argonauts, Mr. Filice decided to take advantage of the down time in the off-season and start his part-time MBA at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University.

“Football was always just a game to me,” he said. “I never looked at it as something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

The athlete was fortunate to have some encouragement in the form of Mark Haley, the recently retired associate vice-president and chief human resources officer at McMaster University (Mr. Filice’s alma mater). Mr. Haley became a mentor for many students after personal commitments pulled him away from coaching football alongside his full-time job at the university. As a former university football player himself, Mr. Haley connected with the young McMaster Marauders and continued to work with them off the field, looking for opportunities to encourage and support them to advance their education.

Mr. Filice distinctly remembers when Mr. Haley sat him down and said, “Fab, you need a plan.”

“He told me to write the GMAT because it would pay off in the long run,” said Mr. Filice. “He is the reason I did the MBA program. He provided me with the direction I needed.”

“I was kind of the pilot project,” said Mr. Filice. “I had a hell of a time directly applying my experience on the field to the specific MBA program criteria.”

Mr. Filice’s successful admission to DeGroote’s MBA program, along with the support of Mr. Haley, encouraged other CFL players to pursue MBA degrees of their own. Matthew O’Meara, a former guard for both the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, began his MBA part-time in January 2009 while still playing in the CFL.

“I really began to evaluate my prospects in football,” said Mr. O’Meara. “I could see my expiration date was fast approaching and I wanted the opportunity to devote myself full time to my education.”

“I am gaining broad exposure to the inner workings of such a large financial institution,” said Mr. O’Meara. “I wouldn’t have had this opportunity without my MBA.”

For Jason Pottinger, who is currently still playing for the Toronto Argonauts, his interest in pursuing an MBA at the Schulich School of Business at York University was sparked early by players like Mr. Filice and Mr. O’Meara.

“I picked their brains and there was one common theme,” said Mr. Pottinger, who and celebrated his own Grey Cup victory this past fall. “They told me to get started early and not to wait until it’s too late to set up my second career.”

Mr. Pottinger said he took his peers’ advice to heart and along with constant mentoring from Mr. Haley he began researching different options.

“I looked at everything,” said Mr. Pottinger. “From engineering to underwater welding, I considered it all before eventually deciding that an MBA would fit perfectly.”Mr. Haley’s role as mentor became increasingly important when all three players ran into difficulty during the admissions process. As the first player in his network to go back to school, Mr. Filice said he had a tough time selling professional football as real work experience.

“Fabio, along with Jason and Matt, needed to learn how to adopt the language of the business school and how to translate their experiences into an application,” said Mr. Haley. “Football is often looked at as just a game. Admissions staff see their transcripts, but they don’t see the endless training hours, the resiliency, the focus, the teamwork, and the depth of commitment it requires compete at the highest level.”

Mr. Pottinger chose to diversify from McMaster, and apply to Schulich because the school’s flexible MBA program would cater to his unique schedule.

“I have to take the summer off completely and take a lighter course load in the fall, but my winters are wide open,” said Mr. Pottinger. “It has taken longer than it would a normal student, but I need the flexibility in order to continue playing football.”

Hoping to graduate next spring, Mr. Pottinger is specializing in international business and emerging economies. Signed with the Toronto Argonauts until 2014, Mr. Pottinger hopes he is setting a good example for the younger players in the league.

“It’s easy to be blinded by the sport and the excitement that goes with it,” he says. “There is less emphasis on the academic and more on the athletic, but it’s the academic that really sets up your future. Ideally, players should be thinking about both. It’s all about balance.”

All three players now speak to both high school students and their pro-athlete peers about the benefits of a strong academic background.