Leadership Lessons
McCombs alumni share insights about how participation in athletics helped prepare them for successful business careers.
Whitney Allison, BBA ’10
Cycling, Entrepreneur
STARTED SPORT 18, as a freshman.
YEARS OF PARTICIPATION Still at it. I’ve just wrapped up my 14th cycling season, seventh as a professional, most recently with Hagens Ber-man-Supermint.
CURRENT JOB Co-founder of Bike Sport LLC, with husband, Zack, offering bike clinics, bike fittings, and camps. Also, marketing director for Source Endurance LLC, and I handle marketing for FoCo Fondo, an annual gravel ride.
HOME Fort Collins, Colorado.
WHAT YOU VALUE MOST ABOUT YOUR SPORT The team aspect. When you have a group of women physically working toward the same goal, there’s something really powerful about that.
MOST MEMORABLE ATHLETIC EXPERIENCE Last year, at the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic, the biggest one-day professional race, we were the underdogs. It was pouring rain, and you couldn’t see anything. Everybody was all in, and we won by an inch. Everybody was crying.
LESSONS LEARNED I was one of those people who was terrified of failing. Entrepreneurship wasn’t even part of my vocabulary. Through cycling, I have become more comfortable with trying and failing, but I don’t think you ever totally overcome the fear of failure. Another lesson: Race after race, you’re experimenting to see what works. The best way to be in business is making calculated guesses. Nothing is guaranteed. There will be disappointment, but failure always gives you the opportunity to learn something.
HOW BUSINESS EDUCATION MATTERED We did a ton of group projects. You try to figure out how to work with each person’s strengths to make a really good team.
SPORTS LEADERSHIP AT McCOMBS
While McCombs students have always distinguished themselves as athletes, the school is now giving academic attention to the business of sports. Over the last year, the McCombs Center for Leadership and Ethics has developed a sports leadership track, with a number of high-profile initiatives, including the hiring of NBA analyst and writer Kirk Goldsberry as a faculty member, sponsoring an event series on the business of sports, and developing new projects with both professional and collegiate sports teams and media organizations. Explains Ethan Burris, professor of management and the center’s faculty director: The business side of sports is huge. Sports also offers a lens through which we can look at societal problems and issues that affect business more broadly, from race relations to issues of privacy and health data. Finally, a lot of our students want a career path into sports, either going to work for a professional sports team or a company Nike or ESPN.”
Jeff Butler, BBA ’14
Wheelchair rugby, Entrepreneur
STARTED SPORT When I was 13, I broke my neck. That’s what enabled me to play my sport, starting at age 15.
HOME Austin.
YEARS OF PARTICIPATION Still playing and was a Paralympic silver medalist in Rio in 2016. I’ll be going to tryouts in December for the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. I anticipate being on Team USA Wheelchair Rugby.
CURRENT JOB Product manager for VMI (Vantage Mobility Internation-al), which converts vans to be wheelchair accessible. I have a patent pending that keeps other vehicles from parking too close.
WHAT YOU VALUE MOST ABOUT YOUR SPORT I love what it allows me to do. I’m almost 30 years old, and I’m fortunate to be able to travel the world and compete at the highest level.
MOST MEMORABLE ATHLETIC EXPERIENCE It was during the Parade of Nations, the opening ceremonies in Rio (2016 Paralympics). In the tunnel, the entire U.S. delegation was chanting, “USA!” It was the most surreal moment, knowing that I had achieved this goal I had set at age 15. This realization washed over me, “Oh, my God, I’m here.”
LESSONS LEARNED The way that I have achieved my athletic goals has been very measured and very tactical. I had this big lofty goal as a 15-year-old and the approach that I have always taken is, I set a big goal and then spend some time analyzing where I am and where I want to be. I set smaller goals to get me there, each step of the way.
HOW BUSINESS EDUCATION MATTERED In business school, you learn finance and marketing and a lot of hard skills, but what you learn most is how to work with people. The lessons you learn about interpersonal dynamics and how to manage expectations of teammates are all applicable to team sports. I learned a ton about teamwork in business school.
Sam Acho, BBA ’10, Business Honors Program
Football, Philanthropist
STARTED SPORT Sixth grade, in Dallas.
YEARS OF PARTICIPATION I’m going on my ninth year as a professional. I spent four years with the Arizona Cardinals and four with the Chicago Bears. After my injury last year (torn pectoral muscle), I was released from Chicago and am a free agent.
CURRENT JOB Vice president of the NFL Players Association. We’re negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. It wasn’t until this year that I’ve understood I’m well-equipped for this kind of work. I love being able to help the guys, and when I’m done playing, I’d like to find some way to work with the NFL or the players. Also, vice president and on the board of Living Hope Christian Ministries [founded by his parents, who came to the U.S. from Nigeria]. My parents go back every year on medical missions, and I started going when I was 15. About two years ago, we opened a medical center. One of my passions is raising money for this.
HOME New York City.
WHAT YOU VALUE MOST ABOUT YOUR SPORT Relationships. My teammates and I wanted to work on a solution to crime and shootings in Chicago. We found five organizations that work with kids and raised $827,000. I love being around a group of guys and rallying together around something we care about as a team.
MOST MEMORABLE ATHLETIC EXPERIENCE Last year, after getting injured, it was realizing I’m more than a football player, I’m more than an athlete.
LESSONS LEARNED Teamwork. A lot of people don’t understand what it means to be a teammate. They think of it as sacrifice. After being injured in 2018, instead of wasting that time, I decided I’m going to be a good teammate to these guys, I’m going to be a good friend.
HOW BUSINESS EDUCATION MATTERED I thought negotiations were about fooling someone, but they’re not. It’s about being honest, being yourself, being genuine.
Dallas Griffin, BBA ’07, MBA ’09
Football Energy Investment Bank Director
STARTED SPORT I started as a guard on the offensive line in sixth grade in Katy, Texas. I played fullback and tight end before switching to center as a sophomore in high school, a position I held throughout the rest of my football career.
HOME Houston.
YEARS OF PARTICIPATION 12 years, including UT.
CURRENT JOB Director at the energy investment bank Simmons Energy, a division of Piper Jaffray.
WHAT YOU VALUE MOST ABOUT YOUR SPORT You’re always preparing for these fourth-quarter situations when you’re exhausted and have nothing left to give, but you still have to take the ball down the field and score. You can’t afford to give anything less than a perfect effort. It’s you and 10 other teammates who are all struggling side by side with a common goal. Learning how to fight in situations like those and making great effort a habit are such valuable lessons for athletes and future business leaders.
MOST MEMORABLE ATHLETIC EXPERIENCE You train so hard and for so long with your teammates that they become an extended family. You develop a bond that’s hard to replicate. The grueling nature of the game, the shared pain, and the shared experience create something that’s pretty unique.
LESSONS LEARNED I wasn’t the strongest or the fastest, but at Texas something that the coaches hammered into my head was that I was the only one who could control my effort level. I could decide that I’ll never quit and that I’m willing to outwork every one of my opponents every day. On the football field, you had to develop this mental toughness; that’s definitely something that I’ve carried into business. If you want to be the best, waking up willing to work harder than everybody else every day is a pretty good start.
HOW BUSINESS EDUCATION MATTERED While at Texas, I felt that the rigor of the business school was a great complement to what I was doing on the field. Whether getting ready for an opponent or an exam, preparation was the best way to put yourself in position to succeed. Of course, as a former football player years later, my business education is paying more dividends than many of the skills I worked so hard to hone on the football field.
Emily Behncke, MBA ’13
Soccer Marketing Strategist
STARTED SPORT Since I was 3 or 4. It’s in my DNA. My grandfather and father played soccer, and my brother played professionally.
HOME New York City.
YEARS OF PARTICIPATION Played professionally in Sweden for a season; still play for fun.
CURRENT JOB Director of event strategy, Anheuser-Busch.
WHAT YOU VALUE MOST ABOUT YOUR SPORT The connection to my family, my history, my past. When I step on the field, I feel like I’m where I belong. And I love the relationships you form. My closest lifelong friends were connections through soccer teams. When you shed blood, sweat, and tears with people, there are bonds there.
MOST MEMORABLE ATHLETIC EXPERIENCE In the Elite Eight, we played Washington State, and they were really good. We played at Princeton, and my brothers flew in from California and Texas, and my parents, who were at every game, were there. I scored a goal within minutes. When I saw my friends from campus and my family, it made me feel like we could do it all.
LESSONS LEARNED You need grit and tenacity to get to the highest levels in sport, and you have to work harder and want it more than anything else. It taught me a lot about work ethic, failure, and success. I had some great wins and losses. It’s what you learn from them and how you react that’s important.
HOW BUSINESS EDUCATION MATTERED In Luis Martins’ Leading People and Organizations class, I learned so much that is applicable both on the soccer field and at Anheuser Busch about how to motivate teams and build a culture of risk-taking. We grew up trying to achieve perfection. But when we try not to make mistakes, we’re also missing opportunities to get better.
Chris McColpin, BBA ’02, MPA ’02
Basketball Commercial Real Estate Finance Professional
STARTED SPORT In the third grade, at my school in Carrollton, Texas.
YEARS OF PARTICIPATION I continued playing through high school and college.
CURRENT JOB Senior director at JLL [Jones Lang LaSalle], a commercial real estate services firm.
HOME Austin.
WHAT YOU VALUE MOST ABOUT YOUR SPORT The team atmosphere is amazing, A basketball team is a close-knit group. Being part of the Texas basketball family, those relationships have continued to grow. We just had a team reunion. I’m sure the fact that I played basketball at UT helped me in my career.
MOST MEMORABLE ATHLETIC EXPERIENCE We were fortunate to go to three NCAA tournaments, and to win the Big 12 championship in March 1999, my first year at Texas.
LESSONS LEARNED Teamwork is hard work. When you’re part of the team and playing at a high level of basketball, you’re playing with guys from completely different backgrounds. You have to be able to adapt and relate to different kinds of people.
HOW BUSINESS EDUCATION MATTERED Every client is different: You have to be understanding of different folks and try and put the right team together to be successful, deal by deal. Preparation is always key.
— Interviews by Mary Ann Roser
This article appeared in the fall 2019 issue of McCombs magazine. Click on the link to see the full issue.
