Life after sports.

WHAT DO HOCKEY PLAYERS DO when they hang up their skates at the end of their career? That was the research question at Quinnipiac University (Conn.) which led to the development of the Professional Athlete Transition Institute in the School of Business.

Duncan Fletcher, director of PATI, says the biggest misperception people have is that athletes are all millionaires who can just play golf and watch TV after their sports careers end. "But for the majority of them, it's not a question of should they work but of what kind of second career should they pursue," he says. "In most sports, players don't stay long enough to earn the kind of money that sets them for life. And in most sports, players don't play long enough to even qualify for the league pension plan."

The institute itself is unique. Although there are "in-house" programs in other sports leagues to serve athletes, PATI is the only one in a university environment. "Our program covers both active and retired players--which others don't--in helping them make the transition to post-playing days," says Fletcher. "With retired players it is a much more time-sensitive process because they need to get going on a career."

Hockey's pension plan and retirement program lag way behind those of other sports, and there are many former players in need of true assistance. PATI's goal is education. To use the analogy of "teaching a man to fish," PATI better prepares players for life after hockey so they won't need emergency assistance.

"Our goal is to allow them to develop their skills, and an understanding of who they are and what they want to accomplish, and give them the tools to do that," notes Dale Jasinski, executive director of PATI and a professor of management at Quinnipiac University.

"The program begins with a self-assessment about who they are and what their career preferences might be. Then we help them determine where their career interests lay, whether it is a career in broadcasting, or as an entrepreneur, a financial planner, a stock broker, or whatever," he says. "Then we move them into a professional coaching environment to help them prepare for that career."

The program also helps players who simply want to return to school. "Unlike the NFL, where more than 70 percent of players go through college, in the NHL it's more like 25 percent of players," says Fletcher.