BGSU expands Athletics Life Design Mentorship program with new partnership

Shift Group, BGSU collaborate to help athletes thrive in life after sports with meaningful careers

Adding a new layer to its long-standing commitment to student-athlete success, Bowling Green State University recently announced plans to integrate a career-focused partnership into its already existing BGSU Athletics Life Design Mentorship Program. 

The University’s Department of Athletics partnered with Shift Group, which specializes in connecting athletes and veterans with employment opportunities to promote successful transitions into meaningful careers. 

The design-thinking-based initiative, launched at BGSU in 2020 and offered to each and every undergraduate, helps students answer the big questions of their college journey while they are still students, promoting successful careers and happy lives. 

Adrienne Ausdenmoore, assistant vice president and executive director of the Geoffrey H. Radbill Center for College and Life Design, said the partnership enhances the existing framework.

“Life Design is fundamentally here to invest in students as people, and this partnership is a further expansion that will be a difference-maker for our student-athletes,” Ausdenmoore said. “Students in our program regularly benefit when they know they have someone on their team rooting for their success, and Shift Group does exactly that for athletes moving into the next phase of their lives.”

While Life Design is offered to all BGSU undergraduates, the partnership is an expansion of the athletics-focused mentorship program designed to address the unique set of challenges facing Division I athletes.

Continuing the mission of the athletic department’s Forward Falcons initiative to foster student-athlete success after sports, Shift Group will provide career development resources, access to professional opportunities, one-to-one coaching, interview preparation and other skills that aid athletes in the transition from sports to a career.

"College athletics shapes young men and women into focused, resilient people," said JR Butler, Shift Group’s CEO and founder. "But it also comes with a built-in identity and playbook. Our partnership with BGSU helps athletes rewire those hard-earned traits for the next chapter — and tell their story with clarity and confidence."

Life Design, which enables students to set their own course, expanded in 2023 to specifically address the student-athlete experience with the creation of a new position and integration of Life Design into courses, mentorship and career readiness initiatives.

The collaboration with Shift Group will allow BGSU to further prepare student-athletes for their careers, said Dr. Gabe Dunbar, the senior director of career design in the Michael and Sara Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections.

"Our new approach for career readiness at BGSU is for students to access career support everywhere across campus, not just through the Kuhlin Career Hub," Dunbar said. "Student-athletes now have an additional layer of support through the Shift Group, which complements our overall strategy. We're excited to see how this partnership assists student-athletes as they transition from BGSU to full-time employment."

With the core idea that athletes can apply the Life Design framework to their lives after their playing days are finished, the partnership between BGSU and Shift Group builds upon the existing framework.

"BGSU Athletics is excited about this partnership and the opportunities it provides our student-athletes to prepare for life after sports," BGSU Vice President for Athletics Strategy Derek van Der Merwe said. "Our mission is to support the success of student-athletes — both in competition and in their preparation for life beyond athletics. Shift Group's vision, platform, training program and network give our program a competitive edge in delivering on that mission."

New Falcons head coach Eddie George, a former Heisman Trophy winner who made four Pro Bowls during his NFL career, said athletes naturally experience a sense of shock once they are done playing their sport.

Through guidance during their playing career, however, the University is intent on helping student-athletes find success after athletics.

"As a head coach and former athlete, I know the struggle that comes with finding yourself once the game ends. That's why this partnership with Shift Group matters — it gives our student-athletes real tools, real mentors and a roadmap for what's next," George said. "We're not just preparing them for the next season, we're preparing them for the next 20 years of their lives."