Ohio State’s James Cotton talks about why he started the Buck Icon Foundation and who it specifically helps.
The Buck Icon Foundation helps former Ohio State University athletes transition into life after football or life after sports, which is our ultimate mission. And within the foundation there are different programs that are catered toward youths and adults in the community as well as cancer awareness.
As a player transitioning out of professional sports, I was involved with many different ventures and had a lot of different ideas. So I brought them all under one umbrella, which became the Buck Icon Foundation.
It was a tough transition for myself, going from the sports world into the real world. I did get a little bit of help from The Ohio State University but it wasn’t very personal and that’s what stuck out to me.
Athletes are being catered to their whole college careers. They have close relationships with academic counselors and advisers. So they’re used to getting special, individualized treatment. Once many of these athletes graduate, they’re in an uncomfortable situation without the individualized help. Historically speaking, people tend to shut down when they’re put into an uncomfortable situation. So the athletes will have more time adjusting than students who have had to help themselves for a longer time.
So I thought it would be good to have a more personable set of resources for collegiate athlete’s transition from college sports or for professional athletes transitioning into corporate America.
There are about 30 guys who have donated their signatures to help me raise money and there are guys who have gone through the foundation and got jobs, such as Trevor Robinson, Brandon Smith and Michael Wiley. A lot of these guys help from a career development standpoint. A team will sit you down and teach them how to act during a job interview, teach them how to build their resumes and how to take the characteristics that they learned from sports and translate that onto a resume and make that stand out to employers to hire them.
Creating this network is tremendous because as guys go through the program and are successful, not only do the players get benefits after they graduate but it also extends the opportunity for the university to partner with us and allow us to help with recruiting. To basically guarantee the parents of these children that their child will be hired once they’re done with their collegiate career, whether it be in professional sports or corporate America.
The Buck Icon Foundation is guaranteeing that a new recruit will get an opportunity for gainful employment once they’re done with their collegiate careers.
I’ve spoken with several former Atlanta Falcons (I’m a member of the Atlanta Falcons alumni club) and shared my vision with other guys from schools like Virginia Tech and the University of Georgia and I told them how a similar type of program could be beneficial for the players that they deal with. I’m in the process of making a template that can be used for universities and colleges around the country.
My vision is to get the athletes more situated for life after sports because sports careers are short careers and it’s very important that these guys use the resources that they have available to them.
For organizations to have this type of program for former players, it’s only going to help excel at life beyond sports. That’s the ultimate goal; to help guys establish careers outside of playing the game.
People can contact me on the phone or via e-mail to make donations that go toward community outreach programs. If someone wants to help at an event we’re hosting, they can speak with me and I can set them up and they can help out.
And if someone has ideas of their own that they would like to see within the foundation, they can leave comments or observations. I take constructive criticism and any way I can better my program and what I’m offering to people who are going through it, I am open to it.
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James Cotton, a former Ohio State football player, is the founder of the Buck Icon Foundation. You can visit the foundation’s Web site here.
Got a question or comment? E-mail him here
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