College Stars Gone But Not Forgotten

The BCS Championship Game is over and another year of college football is in the books. This got me thinking about all the college athletes who will never play organized football again after this season. It’s amazing how quickly star athletes in college can be forgotten once they graduate.

Even the college stars that make it to the pros are not a sure thing. Granted, some will go on to have respectable careers, but most big names from college tend to fade out. Kenny “Sky” Walker, Brian Bosworth, Chuck Long, and Adonis Jordan are just some of the college stars that (slowly) come to mind.

So what happens to the athletes who retire or fade away in the pros? Most of the time, these former players move to careers in other industries. But if they are willing, they will often be able to carve out paid appearances and endorsement deals for themselves as well. Most of this work will come in the local markets where they grew up in or played college ball.

An appearance by former Duke stand out Bobby Hurley in North Carolina or New Jersey is still something that will attract a lot of interest.

Coaches are big draws too. We recently had overwhelming crowds for former Tennessee coaching legend Johnny Majors (pictured) at an appearance with him in Knoxville, TN.

And how surprising do you think it would it be for huge numbers of people to show up at a Danny Manning appearance? Maybe that’s unrealistic if the appearance is in New York but if the event is in Kansas, you can see it happening.

Many kids who were national stars in their heyday on campus never go on to make it in the pros. It must be a life changing experience for these young people who were adored for so many years to finally have to step into an environment unlike the college campus where they held the starring role. I guess the nice thing is they can always go back for a visit.