KEITH BULLUCK of the Tennessee Titans, PATRICK CRAYTON of the Dallas Cowboys, BRIAN GRIESE of the Chicago Bears, TONY RICHARDSON of the Minnesota Vikings, TY LAW of the Kansas City Chiefs, MATT LIGHTand RICHARD SEYMOUR of the New England Patriots and BRADY QUINN of the Cleveland Browns are among the 114 players who have enrolled in theNFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program at the Harvard Business School, Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University), Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
The program is part of an ongoing NFL-NFLPA initiative to assist players in preparing for their post-playing careers. Last year, 116 NFL players participated at the four business schools and 112 took part in 2006. In the program's first season (2005), 66 players took part at Harvard Business School and the Wharton School.
"These programs are great outlets and opportunities to broaden your horizons and expand your base of knowledge," said Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck, who will attend the Stanford program. "I have my degree and I am always looking for ways to get better for life after football. There is also good camaraderie built between the guys at the program that could be useful down the road."
The four schools will offer executive education activities in their respective areas of expertise (see complete descriptions below). The Wharton School and Harvard Business School will hold programs for players from February 24-27 and continue the coursework with an additional session in late March and early April. The Stanford Graduate School of Business and Kellogg School of Management will run three-day sessions from March 2-5.
Player enrollment criteria include level of education; professional business experience; interest in starting, owning, or managing a business; and leadership and community involvement. Under the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, players may be reimbursed for up to $15,000 this year for education expenses at an accredited institution of higher learning.
Following are the NFL players enrolled in the workshop at the Harvard Business School (most recent team listed in parentheses if player is a free agent):
Player
Team
Player
Team
Will Allen
Tampa Bay
Sammy Knight
Jacksonville
Nnamdi Asomugha
Oakland
Adam Koets
NY Giants
Leigh Bodden
Cleveland
Ty Law
Kansas City
Ralph Brown
Arizona
Jamal Lewis
Cleveland
Ricky Brown
Oakland
Reno Mahe
Philadelphia
Phillip Buchanon
Tampa Bay
Rocky McIntosh
Washington
Correll Buckhalter
Philadelphia
Matt Murphy
Buffalo
Jon Dekker
Pittsburgh
Chinedum Ndukwe
Cincinnati
Zak DeOssie
NY Giants
Ben Obomanu
Seattle
Curtis Duncan
Retired (Houston Oilers)
Orlando Pace
St. Louis
Jason Dunn
Kansas City
Alvin Pearman
Seattle
George Foster
Detroit
Tab Perry
Cincinnati
Cornell Green
Oakland
Richard Seymour
New England
Boomer Grigsby
Kansas City
Corey Smith
Detroit
Will Heller
Seattle
Will Svitek
Kansas City
Bennie Joppru
Seattle
Langston Walker
Buffalo
Isaiah Kacyvenski
Retired (Seattle, St. Louis, Oakland)
Marcus Wilkins
Atlanta
Following are the NFL players enrolled in the workshop at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (most recent team listed in parentheses if player is a free agent):
Player
Team
Player
Team
Will Allen
Tampa Bay
Lance Legree
Retired (NY Giants, NY Jets, SF, NO)
Anthony Adams
Chicago
Matt Light
New England
Chris Bober
Kansas City
Fred Miller
Chicago
Copeland Bryan
Buffalo
Antwaan Randle El
Washington
Phillip Buchanon
Tampa Bay
Donnie Spragan
Miami
Bobby Carpenter
Dallas
John St. Clair
Chicago
Casey Cramer
Tennessee
Darnell Stapleton
Pittsburgh
Doug Datish
Atlanta
Max Starks
Pittsburgh
Chauncey Davis
Atlanta
Michael Stone
(NY Giants)
N.D. Kalu
Houston
David Thornton
Tennessee
Pete Kendall
Washington
Todd Weiner
Atlanta
Dan Koppen
New England
LeVar Woods
Tennessee
Following are the NFL players enrolled in the workshop at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (most recent team listed in parentheses if player is a free agent):
Player
Team
Player
Team
Keith Bulluck
Tennessee
Roy Manning
Cincinnati
Jeff Charleston
Indianapolis
Kevin Mawae
Tennessee
Harry Colon
Retired (Detroit, Jacksonville, N.E.)
Aaron Merz
Buffalo
Rashied Davis
Chicago
Ovie Mughelli
Atlanta
Patrick Dendy
Carolina
Don Muhlbach
Detroit
Ken Dorsey
Cleveland
Brady Quinn
Cleveland
Marques Harris
San Diego
Kelvin Smith
Miami
Ben Hartsock
Tennessee
Mike Smith
Baltimore
Reggie Howard
Retired (Carolina, Miami, N.O.)
Tony Stewart
Oakland
Scott Jackson
Houston
Dontarrious Thomas
Minnesota
Lance Johnstone
Retired (Oakland, Minnesota)
Tank Williams
Minnesota
Andrew Kline
Retired (St. Louis)
Cory Withrow
San Diego
Following are the NFL players enrolled in the workshop at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (most recent team listed in parentheses if player is a free agent):
Player
Team
Player
Team
Rodney Bailey
Arizona
James Marten
Dallas
Michael Boley
Atlanta
Mike McKenzie
New Orleans
Kyle Brady
New England
Vernand Morency
Green Bay
Raheem Brock
Indianapolis
Dennis Norman
Jacksonville
Troy Brown
New England
John Owens
Detroit
Brad Butler
Buffalo
Tony Richardson
Minnesota
Jeremy Cain
Tennessee
Rich Scanlon
Tennessee
Steve Cargile
Denver
Jake Scott
Indianapolis
John Carney
Kansas City
Antonio Smith
Indianapolis
Patrick Crayton
Dallas
Nick Sorensen
Cleveland
Bryce Fisher
Tennessee
Duane Starks
Oakland
Todd Fordham
Retired (Carolina, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville)
Todd Steussie
St. Louis
Brian Griese
Chicago
Donald Strickland
San Francisco
Adam Jennings
Atlanta
Ross Tucker
Washington
John Kuhn
Green Bay
Josh Wilson
Seattle
Nate Lawrie
Cincinnati
Stanley Wilson
Detroit
Ryan Lilja
Indianapolis
Jerry Wunsch
Retired (Seattle, TB)
Following are brief descriptions of the executive education programs offered at each business school:
The Harvard Business School (Feb. 24-27; April 7-9)
The HBS program emphasizes entrepreneurial opportunities and business management. Content includes financial analysis, marketing strategies, selected general business skills and legal, contractual and tax considerations. Using the case method, participants learn how to work together to resolve problems similar to the ones they will face in business. During the break between the two sessions,players develop a business plan that they discuss with HBS faculty memberswhen they return to campus.
The Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (March 2-5)
The Kellogg program focuses on developing and selling a brand and evaluating franchise opportunities. This program provides a foundation for recognizing sound marketing plans and preparing players to ask key questions when analyzing opportunities.
The Stanford Graduate School of Business (March 2-5)
The Stanford program seeks to broaden a player's understanding of how to evaluate business opportunities in general and in the sports industry specifically. The program consists of lectures, case studies, and discussion groups to illustrate the broad opportunities in the sporting industry and other industries (including real estate, entertainment and investment).
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Feb. 24-27; March 25-27)
The Wharton program focuses on a broad range of business topics, including financial analysis, entrepreneurship, real estate development, stock market investing, negotiation skills, risk management, and community reinvestment. Attendees work on directed as well as individual real estate, entrepreneurial and personal finance projects during the month between the program's two sessions.
