The art of 'networking' as a student-athlete in college

Why boosters love a winner, and why the key to networking is simpler than you think

Americans love a ‘network’, I must say. And this term, ‘networking’ in reference to connecting you with the people in a school’s booster ‘network’ (AKA college donors), is a real recruiting angle for college coaches. Aside from the facilities, the coaching staff, the players, the schedule, the grade of education, the night-life (obviously), the booster community often gets thrown in to sway collegiate athletes into signing. Often as under the table bribery (e.g. ‘Come to Ohio State and we’ll give you $50K when you graduate’). Though granted, NIL’s now made this legal.

In reality, if you’re going to an Ivy, there’s little point reading this. Why? I have friends who’ve landed internships at asset managers despite majoring in Art, and legitimately opening their first interview with: ‘I don’t think I’m right for the role,’ then still getting the job (true story).

But I wasn’t at an Ivy, and I was all-in. I wanted to be a professional tennis player the moment I arrived and the moment I left, but of course, I still ‘networked.’ Everybody did. The difference I found was in how people approach this and the ones that really help you out in the end are in fact the ones you didn’t ask for a job.

Pay attention, and don’t network your network too early

Here’s the part most athletes get wrong in the first semester: the booster on court 3 does not want to hear about your aspirations in finance. He’s 62, he’s on his second marriage, his hip hurts, and he came to the club specifically to not think about the spread he’s running at his private equity fund. You, asking about ‘summer analyst opportunities’ around the tennis club is, for him, basically assault. This happens more than you think.

I wouldn’t say there’s an art to networking at all. In fact more often than not, less is more really applies aside from a few basic bylaws to being a moderately nice human being. The most useful thing you can do is ask questions, and be genuinely curious. I cannot overstate how much mileage this gets you. Most boosters today came up before the internet made everyone terminally online, so they actually like a conversation that isn’t a pitch deck. They like a 21 year old who asks what they did in their twenties and then, wildly, listens to the answer. Being a social butterfly is hard for a lot of today’s athletes (phones have not helped), but it’s not a complicated skill. Be nice, be sociable, and be genuine. Successful men and women can spot a sophomore who’s job hunting from a mile away.

Next, pay attention. Remember their spouse’s name, ask about their week, what their plans are, how their kids are doing and when they graduate etc. The men and women you meet at college will be family for the rest of your life. Whether it’s a host at a tournament, or just folks you’ll meet through the university, these can end up being some of the most important people in the life for years to come.

Lastly, you don’t need to find ‘common ground’ in some grand strategic sense. You already have common ground. You’re both at a tennis club, mid afternoon, on a weekday. Especially early on into your collegiate career, the bar really is just: be a decent human in person.

Everybody loves a winner

I wish this wasn’t as true as it is, but it is extremely true. All things held constant, there’s a surprisingly clean correlation between the best players on a team and the athletes with the strongest post-college networks.

I learned this pretty fast only a couple months into my freshman year. After a great week at Vanderbilt, I’d won our Regionals for the time in program history (singles), which my partner-in-crime Ryan Peniston won 2 years later. But shortly after the win, flooded in the dinner invites, the ‘champ’ nicknames by eccentric boosters all excited you’ve helped justify their contributions.

Which leads to the single most important rule of networking as a college athlete: don’t let it affect your game. Keep winning, it’ll do the talking for you. I can confirm, after a few surprising losses early in the season, those messages and invitations start to fade. You don't want relationships built purely on your results on the court, but a good result is a very useful ice breaker.

Most importantly, when you win, show up. Go to the dinners. Accept the doubles invites. Turn up to the alumni weekends, the seminars, the golf day’s (who wouldn’t). At most schools it’s expected of you to spend time with donors, and honestly, you should. These people pay for the facility you train in, the strings on your racket, the bus, the coach. Giving them your time and being grateful for it is the entry fee. It’s a small one.

Be the player who wins on Saturday and shows up on Sunday.

The exciting part should be not knowing what’s next

As a freshie, you almost certainly have no idea what you want to do after college. Neither did most of the people you’ll end up working for. Most tennis players and golfers will default to ‘yeah, I’ll probably go into finance’. Not a bad thing. Just the nature of country club sports if we’re being honest here.

Not knowing might feel like a problem. It isn’t. It’s the entire point.

The reason to play the long game with boosters isn’t some patient masterplan to extract a job offer in four years. It’s that you genuinely need the time. Time to meet 40 different people who do 40 different things, and figure out that 35 of them sound miserable, 3 sound interesting, and maybe 2 you’d actually be good at. You cannot speed run this.

So when you finally do have that conversation (and there is a time and a place for it, usually somewhere around junior year, usually over coffee, usually with someone you’ve known two years), the ask isn’t ‘can I have a job.’ It’s ‘I’ve been thinking about X, you’ve done X your whole career, can I buy you a coffee and pick your brain.’

That’s not a pitch. That’s just a curious person doing what curious people do.

And here’s the kicker: by the time you get to that coffee, you usually won’t have to ask. They’ll maybe have already offered to help. Because you’ve spent three years being a decent human, asking real questions, and winning your matches. This is where you’ll see the true power American generosity, something I think is unmatched.

Then graduate, and go be useful.