Sooners Helping Sooners
CHANGING LIVES OFF OF THE FIELD
Of the 1,093,234 high school football players
that gleam under the Friday night lights,
only 6.5 percent will play in college. Of the
college stars that we cheer on at bowl games,
bedlam, and national championship victories
approximately 1.6 percent of those young men will make
it to the ultimate level – the
NFL. Lets say you are from
the University of Oklahoma
(OU) and have made it to
being a professional football
player. You’re living a dream,
achieved by very few, and in
a career that spans an average
of three – five years, if you
are lucky. Taxes, agent fees,
and the procurement of eye
popping luxury items will all
be tied to that “big contract”
and when the pro career is
over, then what?
That’s where Sooners Helping
Sooners, Inc. comes in.
Founded by University of
Oklahoma icon J.D. “Jakie”
Sandefer III, this nonprofit
stands with the mission
to positively impact the
lives of former University
of Oklahoma studentathletes
and their families
by providing opportunities
for personal development,
education and rewarding
career paths. The organization was formalized in 2014 and
is currently headed by the winning combination of Sooner
legends Jerry Pettibone and Jay O’Neal. Despite its strong
football ties, Sooners Helping Sooners, Inc is committed to
assisting all former student athletes, and is inclusive of all
sports and genders.
Two-time National Championship winner, and former
University of Oklahoma coach, Jay O’Neal, at one point in
time also headed the summer job program for OU student
athletes. During that time students were able to garner
summer internships and gain real world experience in their
chosen field of study. Given today’s fierce competition this is
no longer a viable option. Student athletes spend the majority
of their summers away from
their families in intense
University sponsored summer
workouts. So regardless if an
individual athlete elects to go
pro or finishes their 4-year
degree program, their resumes
read the same – no corporate
experience.
“They’re walk ons to the job
market”, O’Neal said, “raw
talent”. This is a place that may
be familiar to many athletes
on the field or court, however,
after earning a college degree,
this in no way can be anyone’s
desired endgame. Sooners
Helping Sooners, Inc assists
these former college student
athletes by transforming what
they have learned from playing
sports: hard work, applying
oneself, and work ethic, into
success in the job world. By
no means is this process a
mere handout. Former student
athletes compete, like all new
graduates, for entry level jobs,
but instead of having a resume full of internships, industry
experience and references, they have Sooners Helping
Sooners, Inc. as their advocates.
“In the beginning we called up our own resources,” recalls
Jay O’Neal. Many times if they had an outstanding candidate,
they would call upon a friend, and ask “businesses to give
people a try”. Now this was never a guarantee of a job, just an
