Lucas: For former football players, graduation a sweet reward for returning to studies
May 07, 2021 | Football, Mike Lucas
White, Gilreath and Costa driven by differing motivations but share satisfaction of long-awaited degrees
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — For James White, the inspiration was his parents. For David Gilreath, it was his sister and newborn child. For Dave Costa, it was an old Badger teammate.
There have been some undeniable forces driving and motivating these former Wisconsin football players to complete their UW undergraduate degrees long after leaving campus.
Each has a unique story and record of success.
White, 29, a fourth-round pick of New England in the 2014 draft, will be entering his eighth season in the National Football League with the Patriots. He has begun his own Sweet Feet Foundation.
Gilreath, 32, an undrafted free agent in 2011, was on multiple practice squads and later traveled the world for a jewelry company. He's working for the Wisconsin Alumni Association in Chicago.
Costa, 42, an undrafted free agent in 2001, spent two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, one in NFL Europe and four in the Canadian Football League. He's a firefighter in Pittsburgh.
Although they have taken different paths to graduation, they will reach the finish line together in 2021 as part of Saturday's commencement ceremony.
"They are all former notable student-athletes and now they are all officially UW graduates — no one can take that away from them," said David Sedor, an assistant director of academic services and senior academic advisor for UW Athletics.
While noting a personality thread between them — high-character achievers who are successful at what they do — Sedor added, "We had a common interest in trying to get their degrees completed."
It was no different for Jeff Likens, 35, from hockey; James Groce, 32, from track and field; and Mike Catalano, 25, from soccer. They've also earned degrees during the spring semester.
Likens, who last skated for the Badgers in 2007, has been playing professionally in Germany and picked up his remaining credits online, a timely lifeline enhanced out of necessity by the pandemic.
"I have a job, I have a family, I just couldn't do it," Costa said of returning for in-person classes. "Then COVID hit, and everything went online. It was, 'Now is the time. Now might be the only time.'"
It was the right timing for Gilreath, who figured, "OK, I can get this done.'"
The timing was also right for White, who explained, "I was able to take my last class online when typically it has to be done on campus. That was kind of a blessing in disguise."
• • • •
Tyrone White, a police officer, and Lisa White, a correctional probation officer, had firm but fair ground rules in their Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home for sons Tyrone Jr. and James. They were sticklers for detail and set a high standard for the boys in all facets of their life, especially academics.
"Education was always the most important thing that starts the foundation for your work ethic," James remembered them preaching. "If you work hard at school, you'd most likely work hard in anything you cared about. So, they always stressed how education will set up your future."
Sedor can vouch for the Whites' commitment to schooling.
"I recall when James came on his recruiting visit," Sedor said, "and even afterwards running into his parents, how important it was to them for him to get his degree. I assured them, 'Hey, when he's ready, we're here for him and we'll support him until he graduates and even beyond.'"
The Whites' message became even more pronounced after James left Wisconsin for the NFL.
"My parents always stressed how important it was for me to get my degree," White said. "Every offseason, they would get on me and ask, am I taking classes? They kept me motivated. My wife, Diana, kept me motivated as well to finish up … It was always at the forefront of my mind."
As was one particular memory of his father's ambition.
"I would see how my dad would study for his promotions in the police department. When I was younger, I didn't realize what he was doing. But as I got older, I realized his dedication to studying and getting those promotions. It was only right I would dedicate myself to finish my work (at the UW)."
In this context, James and Diana had hatched a plan to surprise Tyrone and Lisa.
"The plan was … I was taking classes without telling anybody," he said. "We were going to kind of surprise them with the degree because, like I said, every offseason they would mention it to me."
But tragedy intervened. Last September, Tyrone White, 59, was killed in a car accident. Lisa White was seriously injured. She's now well on the road to recovery. "She's not 100 percent yet, but she has continued to progress," James said. "She's staying motivated and pushing through."
How pleased would his dad be knowing he has finished what he started and gotten his degree?
"I know he'd be extremely proud," said White, who will not be present for Saturday's graduation at Camp Randall Stadium, where he starred. "Going into college that was one of my goals besides trying to make it in the NFL. It was to graduate, and now that I've gotten it done, it's definitely a blessing.
"It would have been cool to be back in the stadium. But either way, it's good to be finished up. For sure, I knew I'd come back at some point and get it done. I took one class after my rookie year and kind of finished the rest over the course of this past year."
He's now in the process of giving back through The Sweet Feet Foundation. This was another plan conceived by James and Diana White (née Civitello), who has two degrees, one in biology from the UW and one in accounting from Southern New Hampshire University.
The foundation's mission statement spells it out: Our mission is to provide scholarships and resources for underprivileged youth for both athletic and academic students. We want to give more opportunities for students to attain their goals for a better education, career and life by providing guidance and mentorship for their future endeavors.
Applicants must be from Florida, Wisconsin, or the New England area.
"We just want to make an impact in the community and try to motivate kids," he said. "Whether school-related or life-related, we want them to know we're here for them and not just to give them the money to get through college, but to build relationships."
By the way, Sweet Feet was White's nickname in high school (St. Thomas Aquinas). He was so tagged by his creative writing teacher during his senior year as part of a homecoming week tradition in which a theme is developed around an individual to motivate the team for its opponent.
"Sweet Feet" it was, though it went into mothballs at the UW. "I didn't really use it until I got to the NFL," said White, also known as the Little Engine That Could. "My agent said I should change my Twitter handle and that was the first thing that came to mind. People liked it, so I stuck with it."
By any name, people, in general, have always taken a liking to James White. Take it from Gilreath, a senior teammate when White was a freshman: "He's a very humble person. I spoke to him about a week ago about how we can kind of align with his foundation through the university."
Gilreath has immersed himself in fundraising and reopening connections with letterwinners as part of his job description in development. He's planning on attending Saturday's graduation at Camp Randall. "I really wanted to see my sister walk in the 2020 class," he lamented.
Suzanne Gilreath, who played four years with the Wisconsin women's basketball team, graduated last spring in communication arts. But there was no ceremony due to COVID.
"When my sister graduated last May and I physically saw her degree, I thought, 'OK, this is worth getting," said David Gilreath, who majored in Community and Nonprofit Leadership (and memorable kickoff returns). "I always wanted to come back, but she inspired me more than anything. She was the biggest motivation.
"At that point, I had gone to the league (NFL) and I had traveled a lot (to over 30 countries). I was working and I didn't see much of a need to come back (for his degree). It didn't really hinder me from what I was doing, and it didn't stop me from my career. Whatever excuse I made for myself."
Sedor never backed off Gilreath.
"He's been on my butt … he texted me, he called me, we had conversations," Gilreath said. "I appreciated him staying on me about this because it's important. He was there when I was a student-athlete, and he was someone I trusted."
Trust and respect are powerful motivators.
"David and I have a relationship," Sedor said. "We're both Minnesota guys (Sedor from Rochester, Gilreath from Plymouth). He was part of one of the first classes I worked with and, when he left early, I told him, 'I'm going to stay on you until you finish this up.'
"He probably got a little sick of me contacting him. But he's in a different place in his life now. He's in a place where it's good timing and it really means something to him."
It means the world to Gilreath, who confirmed, "It's a great feeling. It allows me to pursue different areas that I may not have thought about before. I'm thinking about a master's now, and that didn't cross my mind three years ago, just because I was working and it didn't seem feasible."
Gilreath was inspired, too, by fiancé Hilda Gutierrez (a UCLA grad and TV investigative reporter and anchor) and the recent birth of their daughter, Camila Elena. "That was another motivating factor," he said. "How could I persuade my daughter to go to Wisconsin if I didn't graduate from there?"
Costa can relate. He and his wife Tiffany, a Pittsburgh police officer, have three children, the oldest of whom is taking classes at Temple University. As a four-year offensive line starter who opened holes for Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne, he conceded to once being indifferent to academics.
"I don't say this with any pride — how I went about the education when I was there as an athlete — I just wasn't interested at the time," he confided. "I feel like I missed a big opportunity because now that I'm older I read a lot and there are these different subjects that I'm so interested in."
His perspective changed while studying to be a paramedic following his football career.
"I saw the city of Pittsburgh was going to pay to put people through paramedic school, I applied and got accepted and that's kind of where education came back for me," Costa said. "It was an intense year and I just fell in love with the learning part."
A turning point was a pep talk from an old teammate and O-lineman, Chris McIntosh.
"He came to Pittsburgh last year with the volleyball team for the national championship," Costa said of McIntosh, the UW's deputy athletic director. "He texted me, 'Hey, you want to get dinner?' and I was like, 'Let's go.' He was the one who finally said, 'What are you doing? Finish up your degree.'"
Costa heeded the advice.
"I'm a firefighter, I have a good pension, I get paid well, I'm happy with my job — it's not like I really needed to finish the degree," he said. "But the fact that they reimburse, why wouldn't I finish? I have one kid in college and two more coming up on college. It was a no-brainer really.
"I'm 42 now, so I can retire when I'm 50 from the fire department or I can stay. But if I choose to retire, I've got a degree and other opportunities are open to me now."
Others have found themselves in a similar position.
"We work with every guy individual when it comes to the finances," Sedor said. "Our number one policy is you pay for it upfront and once you successfully pass degree-applicable courses, we'll completely reimburse you for all of your costs.
"With him (Costa), we had to change his major to a more current major that aligned with his interests and what he had done previously — it was a pretty concise, direct path to finish his degree. And he has just attacked it. He has really gone after it."
It's more the rule than the exception when they recommit to taking care of unfinished academic business. "I'm working with some guys right now who are in their mid-50s," Sedor said, "and want to finish their degree because they promised their kids."
Sedor dropped the name of Troy King, who led the Badgers in rushing as a senior in 1982. "He's down in the Atlanta area and retiring (medical sales) and he's got a son who's graduating from college," Sedor said. "He promised his son he would finish his degree, and he's going to start this summer."
Timing is really of the essence in all of these cases. Or, as Sedor posed, "When is it best for them? Some of them now have families and kids or they're playing professionally, and they have camps and whatnot and it's really about how it can best fit into their schedule and their life."
As it has applied to White, Gilreath, Costa, Likens, Groce and Catalano in this graduating class.
"It's been a long, fun journey," said Gilreath, who may have then been speaking for the others. "It does feel pretty good that I'm still capable of comprehending and learning. I can do this stuff."
Sweet inspiration for all. Especially for Sweet Feet, whose dad knew that to be true all along.
