A sampling of advice on resilience, ambition and what comes next, shared by current and former athletes, broadcasters and sports business leaders during commencement season.
* indicates alum
Tom Brady
Seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback, Fox Sports lead NFL game analyst and Las Vegas Raiders minority owner
Georgetown University
When the odds are stacked against you, when you’re facing your own 28-3 moment — and believe me, it’s coming — you’ll have a choice to make. To quit or to fight your ass off. The choice seems pretty obvious, and it’s easier said than done. I mean, why expend all that energy fighting when it’s virtually certain you’ll lose? Why not quit and live to fight another day? Well, sometimes there isn’t another day. Super Bowl 51, “there” was no other day. … With a lot of the most important moments in your lives, when you have a chance to do something truly special, it’s going to be the same way. You may only get one chance to impress your boss or land a promotion or to close a deal or not.
Colt McCoy
Former Texas Longhorns and NFL quarterback
*University of Texas at Austin
We celebrate talent and we should, but character is built in the decisions that nobody claps for. Look around the stadium. Every single one of you is gifted. … But here’s my point: Your gifts might open the door because you’re all talented. But your choices will determine how far you go.
Here’s the truth: everything worthwhile in life is uphill. Success. Personal growth. Discipline. None of it comes easy. And when you add integrity to the equation, doing it the right way, the climb just gets steeper. But so does the return.
Kobie Turner
Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman and former college football walk-on
*University of Richmond
As you chase the next goal, always remember that the hard work works. Each day, take a step in the right direction. Put in daily deposits towards your goals, whether they be personal or professional. Consistent progress beats inspiration every time.
It can be easy to ride the emotional rollercoaster, letting the highs and lows of life dictate how you show up each day. But the standard is the standard. Each day, it’s putting the daily deposits to take you where you want to go.
Bobby Wagner
10-time Pro Bowl linebacker and 2025 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year
*Utah State University
Something that I wish people would have told me when I was in school was the power of networking. It’s funny because when we’re growing up and were kids, we were taught don’t talk to strangers. And then when we grow up, talking to strangers — it’s called networking.
I tell you guys how important networking is because you never know what person can open that door. And you have a group of people in this [Utah State Aggie] family that want to see you win and want to see you successful in any field. … There’s so many people that want to connect and I often see the thing that stops people from reaching out is [that] they’re scared to get turned down. If you get turned down, who cares? It’s a no. It doesn’t matter.
Venus Williams
Trailblazing tennis icon and seven-time Grand Slam singles champion
Loyola Marymount University
So go for it. Plan your win. Speak up. Ask for that raise. Speak to your boss about that long-term plan about the company. Don’t just hope you get the raise, plan for it proactively. Ask that top-level executive to be your mentor. Start your company. The future is for those who reach out and grab it. So plan to win.
You know what, you’re gonna fail. And if you haven’t failed, you haven’t tried. And if you haven’t pushed hard enough, you took the safe route. And we know what that’s about ... we have to go for it and not take the safe route.
Greg Sankey
Commissioner, Southeastern Conference
*SUNY Cortland
I learned the importance of guiding people to feel, to think and to do, no matter the setting. What was taught for use in the classroom applies universally. … Whether you are seated today in the eighth row or the 80th row: go lead people to feel, to think and to do. Innovate. Be a lifelong learner. And, in this society, disagree without being disagreeable.
Fran Harris
WNBA champion and ”Shark Tank” alum
*University of Texas Moody College of Communications
Moody graduates, the world doesn’t need more content. It needs more courage. It needs more truth, more bold storytellers, more good troublemakers. That’s me and that’s you. So when life throws you a bullet pass on the fast break and you’re not looking, or a fastball when you least expect it — and it will — don’t duck. Swing. And if you miss, swing again. And because you’re a Longhorn, I want you to saddle up on that metaphorical Bevo and you ride. Because what starts here changed our lives so that we can go out there and change the world.
Mike Tirico
Emmy Award-winning sportscaster, lead voice for NBC “Sunday Night Football” and the network’s NBA and Olympic coverage
*Syracuse University
Remember, you’re an increasing part of your professional life. Your human touch and emotion is always going to have a place. You just have to fight to make it better and make it matter. Even though that’s going to be hard, I think you’re going to do that.
My career has given me the chance to know some of the best athletes of our lifetime … What I’ve seen from all of them can impact you. Because you see, their success came not because of just their physical ability to dunk a basketball or swim faster than anybody ever. They thrived because of their minds, their strength to out-plan, to out-think, to withstand the scrutiny. They all recognized real-life vulnerabilities and they managed to overcome them, and it led them to greatness.
Dawn Staley
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, three-time national championship-winning coach at South Carolina
Smith College
Start with knowing yourself. Take the time to truly understand who you are and be OK with it. Then, let that truth guide your choices … You must have a belief in yourself that is far greater than anyone’s disbelief ... And, finally, there is no rivalry among women. Lifting yourself up and lifting up another woman are one and the same. We have to support each other because the truth is, we make the world go around. Without us, it all stops.
Lindsey Vonn
Olympic alpine skiing gold medalist, owner of record 82 World Cup victories
USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
You’re probably thinking I’m going to tell you about winning, about working hard, about talent, about pushing past your limits. But after all is said and done, I’ve come to realize the most profound wins I have achieved in my life are actually my failures ... Some of you sit here today thinking you know exactly what comes next. And some of you, and this is completely OK, have no idea what comes next. Whether you can see the top of your next mountain or not, it’s there. Neither your confidence nor your fear is going to tell you what the climb is actually going to require ... I’m not up here to tell you how to win. I’m up here to tell you how to keep going when you fall. And why, if you do, the winning will come.
Ray Lewis
Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker, two-time Super Bowl champion
North Carolina Central University
Once you decide who you are, everything in your life starts aligning with it. It only takes one decision to change everything … Everything in your life is going to respond to that decision. The way you think, the way you move, the opportunities you attract, the people you align with — all of it. Because life doesn’t just give you what you want. It responds to who you are.
Who you are today may not align with who you’re called to be. Until you’re willing to question that, you’re going to keep living a life that doesn’t match what’s inside of you. So here’s the real question: What are you going to do after today?
Billie Jean King
Legendary tennis champion, global trailblazer for gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights
*California State University, Los Angeles
At 82, I have been fortunate enough to have many life experiences, and one thing it has taught me is perspective — and a few life lessons ... Your legacy is what other people think about you. What is important is the value of the contributions you make ... My friend and late mentor Ed Woolard and I identified three guiding principles for achieving inner and outer success: 1. Relationships are everything. Relationships with yourself, your loved ones, your family, faith and friends. 2. Keep learning and keep learning how to learn. Be a problem-solver and an innovator. Our decision, our actions and our voices will shape what comes next. 3. Have fun, be fearless and make history.
John Harbaugh
New York Giants head coach
*Miami (Ohio) University
You’ll learn from experience that life is best lived going forward, but it’s best understood looking back. Things aren’t always going to go the way you plan. In fact, sometimes things will go way better. Sometimes things are going to go so good you won’t even believe how well they’re going ... But there’s going to be tough times. They’re going to show up, too. You might get a call with some bad news. Maybe about your job. Maybe they’ll tell you they don’t want you anymore. Time to move on. That happens. In those moments, I hope you’ll find resilience, and that you’ll be able to rejoice in all the good that you still have and all the people who still care for you — that you’ll come to understand that there is a great opportunity on the next horizon of your life — and that you can still walk together into every uncertain future with the people you love.
Marc Farha
Co-chief executive of CAA Icon, former Wichita State basketball manager
*Wichita State University
From my viewpoint, all relationships are weighted equally; that’s how important they are, and you can never have too many. But for clarity, I am not talking about the number of connections you have with LinkedIn or followers on Facebook, which is part of the world we live in. I am referring to authentic, genuine, meaningful and lasting relationships.
These relationships, again, have been so foundational to my career, to me personally and to the ties that bind. … Think about the relationships you have made during your time here at Wichita State, or even before your time here. Make a concentrated focus and effort to stay coupled to these relationships and look to expand and build upon these — but do it in a meaningful way for a long-lasting approach. And you never know, it might just change your life, too.
