University of Tennessee Athletics
VFL Career Night Prepares Vols For The Future
February 26, 2016 | Football
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- On the field, Butch Jones and the staff at the University of Tennessee prepare the student-athletes that they lead to succeed at the next level of football.
Off the field, a vast network of former Vols stand ready to help as their present-day counterparts begin to prepare for life after football, whenever that day may come.
That was the focus of VFL Career Night, an annual event at the Anderson Training Center that connects rising juniors and seniors with former players and others in the business world ready to help prepare those current players for the job market.
"We encourage them to take football as far as it will take them," said Brad Lampley, a Tennessee offensive lineman from 1994-97 and partner at Adams and Reese, LLP in Nashville. "At the same time, unless you're Peyton Manning or someone unique like that, you're not going to be financially set for the rest of your life. The next life is coming and it's going to be more than ok because you have a degree from the University of Tennessee and you're part of this unique network of former players that is very much a family. Whether you're a guy that just got done playing calling a guy that played in the 1970's or 80's trying to make a connection or get a job, they'll bend over backwards for you by virtue of you being a part of this brotherhood."
The event attracted over 40 local and national businesses in fields such as healthcare, financial planning, communications, law and law enforcement. Student-athletes were provided with bios of the businesses and their representatives and had the opportunity to mingle with all attendees at a reception. Later in the evening, a formal dinner was held with players seated with VFLs in their areas of interest.
"Every time we call on former players, they're here," said Antone Davis, VFL Coordinator and organizer of the event. "Any time they get a chance to mentor our players, they're here to do it. Our current players get a chance to network and build relationships and not just wait until you're a senior to write and resume and try to get a job."
Relationships made like the one that helped Lampley, now a member of the UT Board of Trustees, land his first job after graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law.
"There was a player from the 1960's that was willing to go to bat for me with a prospective employer," Lampley said. "I've never forgotten that and it's something that's very important to me. It's the reason I'll drive over from Nashville on a Thursday afternoon through snow for this event and drive right back afterward. It's that important to me."
The relationships are important to the current players as well, who recognize the brotherhood that they are a part of by joining the Tennessee family.
"It's really an honor," running back Alvin Kamara said. "For guys that played here to come back and help the guys that are here whenever they're ready to move on to the next part of their careers, it's really a blessing. The opportunities that we have here at Tennessee, they are opportunities that you just don't have anywhere else."
Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin saw the event as yet another example of how strong the Tennessee family is.
"It means a lot to us having guys that used to play here come back and be willing to give us opportunities after football is done," Reeves-Maybin said. "That's what family is about, giving back to each other and that brotherhood."
Lampley felt the night was just as important for those that will have a career in professional football as it is for those that will enter the workforce right after graduation. Part of Phillip Fulmer's highly-touted first signing class at Tennessee, Lampley saw first-hand how important preparation for a second career was for teammates, even those that wore NFL jerseys.
"We had a spectacular signing class, second or third in the country," he said. "But at the end of the day, there were only two or three guys that had a long NFL career. With that, none of those were set to the point they didn't have to work anymore. Even if you play six or seven years in the league, you're still going to have to go get a job, so why not start making connections and developing those relationships now?"
He also sees football as a huge advantage on the resume of those entering the job market.
"One of the best business educations you get is playing football," Lampley said. "Most of the people you're competing with on the job market don't have that skill set that football builds in terms of overcoming adversity, working under pressure and deadlines, working within a team and being able to handle a demanding boss. There are so many lessons that I fall back on every single day."
