Invest like a champion

These guys don’t sit at school desks anymore. But when 23 current and former NFL players hit campus in April, they came for a crash course in starting socially minded ventures.

The “Investment for Impact” conference, held April 18-21 in the Stayer Center for Executive Education, provided the attendees with an understanding of investment strategy and entrepreneurial ventures, and introduced them to the fundamentals of social entrepreneurship—ventures intended to promote the greater good while being financially sustainable. The conference was designed and delivered by the Stayer Center and the Gigot Center for Entrepreneurship.

Sessions were delivered in the Stayer Center for Executive Education but extended to the Venture Fair and McCloskey Business Plan Competition. “We wanted them to see, feel, touch, and taste what it’s like being an entrepreneur,” says organizer and non-degree programs director Paul Slaggert.

NFL Player Engagement partnered with the Mendoza College of Business to conduct the four-day program. The initial program idea was proposed by Jeff Faine (‘03), who soon recruited Brady Quinn (’06) to assist in championing the idea with the NFL. Both Faine and Quinn had attended similar NFL Player Engagement programs at Stanford and Wharton and were committed to add Notre Dame to the list. “I’m proud to have had a hand in bringing Investment for mpact to my alma mater, and assisting in forming a partnership between the University of Notre Dame and the NFL for the continuing education of professional athletes,” Faine said. “It has been a longstanding goal to give back in a meaningful way to the game that has provided so much opportunity for me.”