Q&A With Jason McAlpin
6/20/2008 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
June 20, 2008
Former Terrapin Jason McAlpin completed his degree at Maryland in May and has made a successful transition from the hardwood to the workforce. umterps.com recently caught up with the former Terrapin to talk to him about his position with Under Armour.
umterps.com: What are have you been doing since graduation?
Jason McAlpin: I am interning at Under Armour and working in their footwear division. It's going really well, this department is really growing so it's a good situation for me. I met Kevin Plank and Ryan Drew during the season. We stayed in touch and they brought me on to their rookie program.
umterps.com: You majored in marketing at Maryland, so how much are you able to apply from the classroom to the internship?
JM: A lot, really. A lot of what you learn in school is high-level marketing that you may not get a chance to utilize until you have your own company. I'm able to take a lot of the marketing principles and use them. I will be reaching out to some athletes to get their feedback on how performance is important to them, and what they associate with the Under Armour brand, and that's something I picked up in school.
umterps.com: You have a unique background in that you have experience as a Division I athlete and now you're trying to market a product to other elite-level athletes in different sports. Does that help you to be able to speak the language with the athletes as well as the marketing specialists?
JM: That experience is invaluable. It's a big help for them to have someone who played a sport in college and is still close to the target demographic.
umterps.com: What were you able to take away from playing basketball in college to the job?
JM: The biggest thing that I learned playing basketball at Maryland was that you have to be tough and you have to be a competitor. I've tried to maintain that in my transition to the workplace. There are going to be setbacks and things are not always going to go your way, but you have to be mentally tough and put those things out of your mind so you can accomplish what you need to get done. The other key part is the competitive aspect. In practice you're trying to really go at the guy you're playing and it's similar out here. You want to be better than the next person to try and climb the corporate ladder, but also to do better work than everyone else.
umterps.com: A month ago you were taking final exams and now you are in the workplace, what has that transition been like for you?
JM: It hasn't been too bad for me because I had full-time jobs every summer in college, so I'm used to the traditional workplace setting. It's been a pretty easy transition for me, the only difference is that in the past there was a stopping point for me because I was going back to school in the fall. Now I'm just working with no particular end point.
umterps.com: Do you still try to get out and play a little bit?
JM: I still have the bug, no question. I still go out a few days a week and get in some pickup games. For a while I was considering going overseas to play because I still have that bug. I still felt like I have a lot of games left in me and can continue to get better as a basketball player and make some money doing it. But Under Armour is probably a better situation for me in the long run. I learned a lot from basketball, but you can't play forever.
umterps.com: How difficult was that decision to turn down a chance to play overseas and instead begin your career?
JM: It was very tough, but like I said before, you have to develop a certain mental toughness and tell yourself that professional basketball is not for everyone. I know that, and luckily for me I have this good grounding in business and marketing. I felt like there was a great chance to make a career out of this and it's the path that's laid down for me so you just have to be tough about it.
