The Work in Sports Podcast - Insider Advice for Sports Careers · Brian Clapp - Work in Sports

Paying it Forward in College Athletics (w/Nebraska Assistant AD Mattie Fowler Burkhardt)

·42 min·2 clips

Maddie Fowler Burkhardt says Nebraska student-athletes need resilience because she spent five years finishing with an injury.

1. Work in Sports Podcast focuses on paying it forward in college athletics through Maddie Fowler Burkhardt’s Nebraska career and fundraising role. 2. Brian Clapp hosts, and Maddie Fowler Burkhardt is Nebraska’s Assistant AD for Annual Giving, a former four-time team captain and Academic All-American whose path matters to the topic. 3. The episode asks how student-athletes turn college experience, networking, and development work into long-term careers in athletics. 4. Maddie says college athletics is demanding, and she spent five years at Nebraska after an injury and a medical redshirt year. 5. She recalls Coach Rhonda Revelle telling her early that she would become an academic All-American, a prediction that came true at Nebraska. 6. Maddie says the grind of practice, travel, and class taught her resilience, discipline, and the need to keep finding motivation. 7. She describes crying herself to sleep on some nights because the game felt faster and her body did not always cooperate. 8. She argues that employers and donors value former student-athletes because they usually bring work ethic, fit, and the ability to keep going when it gets hard. 9. Brian connects that idea to veterans and entry-level job candidates whose resumes may not show the same kind of experience. 10. Maddie says the bigger advantage for student-athletes is networking, because Nebraska’s alumni base and athletic connections can surface opportunities later. 11. She explains that her own return to Nebraska happened after she had already worked outside sports and was considering banking. 12. Maddie says she got 'really lucky' when the athletic director knew her from student-athlete leadership work and suggested she interview. 13. She says the lesson is that networking is not an instant result and can pay off years later. 14. Maddie defines development as fundraising for scholarships, capital projects, endowments, and anything that touches the student-athlete experience. 15. She says Nebraska has over 17,000 donors, so the staff focuses on key relationships, premium seats, and the next generation of givers. 16. She says the job is mostly learned on the job, and success starts with communication, confidence, and comfort in hard conversations. 17. Maddie says major gift work begins with unglamorous tasks like donor profiles, reports, small events, and suite support. 18. The interview stays practical and conversational, with Brian asking direct career questions and Maddie answering with examples from Nebraska. 19. People interested in college athletics careers and athletic administration will get the most out of this episode. 20. People looking for a light, casual sports chat may skip this one.

As heard by us

A practical look at how college sports careers get built through fundraising, student work, and long-term relationships.

College athletics careers do not begin on the field alone, and this episode makes that case without much fuss. Maddie Fowler, the Assistant AD for Annual Giving at the University of Nebraska, walks through the development side of an athletic department, where fundraising, donor…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Want a grounded look at how college athletics hires people and builds careers?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Work in Sports Podcast - Insider Advice for Sports Careers