“I wish our coaches and athletics administrators talked more about preparing for a career after college.”
Written by: Sara Murray, Co-Founder & Owner, Athlete2Exec
Written by: Sara Murray,
Co-Founder & Owner Athlete2Exec
This statement above was the #1 answer student athletes gave in a survey conducted by the NCAA in 2019 to the question of what they wish coaches and athletic administrators talked about more.
In a recent NCAA GOALS Study, male and female Division I student-athletes cited preparation for a career after college as the top item they wished their coaches and athletic administrators talked more about (see table below). Communication about career preparation was in higher demand than proper nutrition and sleep, mental wellness, and financial matters.
“I wish our coaches and athletics administrators talked more about…”
(Division I Student-Athletes)


Note: Only items with >20% endorsement listed. Other items included: Academic resources, living away from home, sexual violence prevention, conducting ourselves appropriately, drinking/substance use, and concussion awareness. Source: NCAA GOALS Study.
Being a college athlete is the dream of many young men and women and drives a huge part of what they do every day to earn that opportunity. For those that are talented enough to win a spot, the reality of the demands of being both a student and an athlete can be overwhelming. In some cases, their whole identity up to this point was being an “athlete,” and when the time comes to eventually transition to a career outside of sports, it can leave some athletes reeling.
The process of navigating a complex job search and interview process was not something most athletes spent a lot of time preparing for. In recent years the candidate experience for any new graduate can feel defeating:
- The relentless cycle of applying for jobs online only to be screened out almost immediately by AI software.
- Having to compete with hundreds and sometimes thousands of candidates for one role.
- Having to compete for jobs against candidates who had more flexibility and ability to participate in internships, part-time jobs, or volunteer opportunities that some athletes are unable to do due to their training schedule.
- Dealing with a world where the reality is… most opportunities happen through a network or a connection rather than a traditional job search. Some athletes do not have the luxury of an established network or support system to help steer them to warm introductions to hiring managers that can make all the difference.
The good news is that successful athletic departments are starting to track and have KPIs around student-athletes successfully transitioning into good jobs and are getting coaches involved in preparing their graduates. They also provide training programs and services to help prepare athletes. Partnerships with organizations that help place athletes with employers are also growing more popular. What more can athletic departments and coaches do to bridge the gap?
Athlete2Exec is a firm that focuses on the front end of this need by providing in-depth and personalized training for athletes, delivering confidence when entering the search and interview process. Many athletic departments or career services centers are resource strapped and lack the expertise necessary to fully deliver a robust program that meets the athletes’ needs. This is where Athlete2Exec can really relieve the pressure as their customized training programs and 1:1 coachings are delivered by senior-level executives who have extensive real-world experience hiring in this competitive marketplace.
This focus on the individual athlete and providing in-depth training resources can arm coaches and athletic departments with a recruiting advantage as well when attracting new talent to their program. Along with the training, A2E also has a unique executive mentor roster of senior professionals, who were athletes themselves, passionate about partnering to encourage and connect athletes to life-changing careers. Placement services are also available, and this total suite of offerings enables athletic departments to meet goals of looking beyond graduation rates to driving hire rates for athletes. We can change the answer to the question of what athletes wish was talked about more!