20 Secrets to Success for NCAA Student-Athletes

“At a time of fast-paced change on college campuses and in college athletics, young people can benefit from any information that helps them navigate their academic, athletics, and life experiences while a student-athlete. 20 Secrets to Success for NCAA Student-Athletes is exactly the kind of guidance that can be read and used over and over to help student-athletes maximize their entire college experience and prepare for life beyond the athletic arena. The authors’ breadth of experience and knowledge combine with relevant data to create a modern resource that provides the kind of learning opportunity needed by today’s student-athletes.”

Greg Sankey, commissioner, Southeastern Conference

Praise for the first edition: “Excellent insights and advice to current and former student-athletes.”

Journal of Sport Management

“This guidebook amplifies the paths to success that college sports provide. The broad perspectives shared throughout the book demonstrate a perfect understanding of how important it is for student-athletes to give their talents to their sport and their focus to academics.”

Mark Emmert, NCAA president

“The authors provide terrific insight and practical advice on how to develop a road map for that ‘next’ phase in your life and better prepare you for long-term success. I recommend this for anyone invested in the lives of student-athletes, but especially for aspiring or current student-athletes … it’s never too late to start thinking about what’s next.”

Amy Huchthausen, commissioner, America East Conference

The premier NCAA student-athlete handbook, now in a second, updated edition designed for today’s competitive market and with a new chapter on name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights.

Few student-athletes dreaming of athletic stardom ever make it to the pros. Yet, the discipline and skills they’ve developed while balancing a sport and academics make them ideally suited for satisfying careers elsewhere.

The book’s authors draw on personal experience, interviews, expert opinion, and industry data to provide a game plan for student-athletes to help them transition from high school to college, navigate evolving rules about NIL rights, and find success in life after college.

Modeled after Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this expanded and updated guide provides a much-needed strategy for student-athletes as they prepare for postcollege careers, while serving as a valuable resource for their parents, coaches, and sports administrators across the country.

Rick Burton is the David B. Falk Distinguished Professor of Sport Management at Syracuse University’s Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and Syracuse University’s faculty athletics representative to the NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference. Previously, he was chief marketing officer for the US Olympic Committee for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and commissioner of the Sydney-based Australian National Basketball League. He and coauthor Norm O’Reilly write a monthly column for Sports Business Journal and have coauthored three other books together. He also operates the Burton Marketing Group, which has worked with the NFL, NHL, NBL, and other leagues.   More info →

Jake Hirshman currently works at the PGA Tour in tournament business and sponsor relations for the Korn Ferry Tour. Previously he worked for Learfield-IMG College, MLB, the Rose Bowl, the Ontario Reign, and the Inland Empire 66ers. In addition to hosting the Life in the Front Office podcast, he is coauthor of the forthcoming book LOL, Loss of Logo. Hirshman is a cofounder and partner of Competitive Advantage Consulting and Sports Business Case Reviews. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor at the University of Florida and Seattle University.   More info →

Norm O‘Reilly is a leading scholar in the business of sports and the author or coauthor of sixteen books and more than 150 articles. Currently the Dean of the Graduate School of Business at the University of Maine, he held the Richard P. and Joan S. Fox Professor of Business and chair of the Department of Sports Administration at Ohio University’s College of Business from 2014 to 2018. O'Reilly received the Career Achievement Award by the American Marketing Association’s Sport Marketing Special Interest Group and was assistant chef de mission for the Canadian team at the 2016 Paralympic Games. He is a lifetime research fellow of the North American Society for Sport Management.   More info →

Andy Dolich has spent over fifty years in the professional sports industry and held executive positions with the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB. Together with Jake Hirshman, Dolich cohosts the Life in the Front Office podcast and coauthored LOL, Loss of Logo: What’s Your Next Move? He is an Ultimate Sports Guide columnist, the CEO of Fan Controlled Football (FCF), the president of Dolich Consulting, and a Stanford Continuing Studies instructor.   More info →

Heather Lawrence is the author of Event Management Blueprint: Creating and Managing Successful Sports Events and has twenty years of sport business experience. After more than fifteen years in academia at Ohio University, in 2021 she became the director of sport operations at CrossFit, LLC. Prior to her academic career, Lawrence was an intercollegiate athletics administrator at Southeastern Louisiana University and the University of Florida.   More info →