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Represent Stars On The Field And In The Classroom

Value must be placed on an athlete’s ability to perform on a football field, basketball court, baseball diamond, etc, but having a strong education should also be a factor that is considered when trying to woo a client to your agency.

Derrick Z. Jackson of the Boston Globe has just released a chart that displays the AP Top 25 College Football Poll next to a ranking of those schools based on their graduation rates [Graduating to a new standard]. While the national championship would not be Ohio State up against Florida, UF still is fairly impressively ranked at #6 (OSU is tied at #25 with a 55% graduation rate).

Does an institution’s graduation rate necessarily matter when selecting clients? Maybe. If I am looking to go shopping for more than one client, I may choose to scout at a school that places more emphasis on making sure that their players are successful on and off the field. At the same time, Texas puts a lot of great players into the NFL, and the school has a meager 40% graduation rate among its players.

Either way, it is an interesting comparison, so go check it out!

-Darren Heitner

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.

3 replies on “Represent Stars On The Field And In The Classroom”

I think that when selecting clients, you must not simply examine them based on their on-field, on-court etc. performance. They are not simply athletes, they are also people, and there is a better chance of them being responsible people off the field if they attended a more respected institution where they were not simply put on the fast track to the pro’s, but rather also taught some life lessons before they make their million.

Many of the notoriously successful schools do not have the most impressive graduations rates, as they often have underclassmen leave early for the pro’s. While there is nothing wrong with leaving school early to go to the pro’s, you are only in school once and staying an extra year or two to graduate would generally produce a better client I believe.

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