Tom Daniels CAUGHT…Going Beyond Business as Usual

By Anna Crabill

College of Business student Christian Piazza started playing football at Bowling Green State University as a redshirted freshman. He never imagined that his fifth year at BGSU would lead to graduating with a Master’s in Business Administration, and that’s all thanks to Tom Daniels.

Tom Daniels went above and beyond as an advisor and showed Piazza how to make the most of his fifth year at BGSU by introducing him to the Accelerated Graduate Program. The benefit of the program is that it allows students to receive an MBA in just one-year, which can be especially beneficial to student athletes who are at BGSU for five years due to their sport.

With the help of Piazza as a recruiter of athletes who have been redshirted and have done well in their undergrad, Daniels’ began to create a relationship with the athletics department and the athletic advisor to expand the reach to student athletes. Daniels was then able to present to the athletic coaches in January to share the success and opportunity of the program.

“The benefit of talking with the coaches is that they understand that when recruiting potential athletes and their families they can ensure that the student will not only play on the team, but will also be able to earn an MBA,” said Daniels.

Students do not need to be a business major in order to work towards their MBA, which opens the door even more to student athletes to make the most out of their time at BGSU. Piazza says the personal drive and time management skills you learn as a student-athlete helps when pursuing an MBA.

“The program cohort is composed of a diverse group which allows for a great opportunity to interact and collaborate with people from all over the world with various undergraduate backgrounds," said Piazza. “Tom Daniels exceeded my expectations as an advisor, opened my eyes to an incredible program and set me up for post-grad success."