Football and Finance: A Talk with Nick Fitzgerald

By Alexandra Brasher

Let’s all take a second to admit it: It took us until around midway through Nick Fitzgerald’s remarkable 2016 sophomore season to stop missing Dak Prescott. Let’s also admit that this had nothing to do with underperformance by the 6’5”, 230-pound quarterback from Richmond Hill, GA. Fitzgerald started in all 13 games, broke nine school records – four single-season and five single-game – and set SEC records for both 100-yard rushing games by a quarterback (8) and average yards per rush (7.1). Fitzgerald responded to replacing one of the most beloved quarterbacks in MSU history by blazing an historic trail of his own.

Proof of Fitzgerald’s tenacity has not only been demonstrated on the football field. The finance major made both the 2015 and 2016 SEC Fall Academic Honor Rolls, and he seems to enjoy discussing finance as much as he does football. While Fitzgerald agrees his degree of choice is not easy to balance with being a student-athlete, he makes it increasingly clear that the staffs of both MSU Athletics and the College of Business support his putting academics first. He is awarded no special treatment in the classroom – even during Egg Bowl week.

Fitzgerald sat down with Dividends early this fall to discuss his background in finance and in football and how he continually strives for success both on and off the field.

I’ve been around sports my whole life, and I’ve been on some really good teams and some really bad teams. I remember when I first came to watch practice. I looked at the players who were coming back [to play the next season], and then I saw the success Dak [Prescott] was already having – so I was definitely not blown away by the fact that we were doing so well.

I was. I knew that I wanted a business degree, and I knew finance was probably what I was leaning toward the most. My uncle does business in Atlanta, and I was able to meet a lot of people he knows and to tour big banks and talk to people who were doing financial advising. It kind of clicked for me that this would be something I would want to do.

Well, I love being around money [laughing] and managing my own money! I think being able to manage money for other people so that they can become more successful would be pretty cool.

Football-wise, I had to come in and replace the most beloved player in Mississippi State football history. Those were huge shoes to fill – a lot of pressure. On top of that, I was going into my upper-level classes for my finance degree, and I knew it was going to take a lot of time to study football and then to stop and study for class. It was tough, but I made it through!

During the season, we have meetings with the coaches in the mornings around 7 a.m., and then afterward people go to class. For me, I only had one or two classes a day, so I’d meet with my coaches at 7, leave at 10 a.m. to go to classes and come back around 1:30. Then, I wouldn’t leave the football facilities most nights until 9 or 10 p.m. By the time I got home, I would be dead tired. On top of that, I might have to study for a Statistics II test, so it was hard.

There is definitely no special treatment…. We are supposed to be students first and athletes second.

Having finally made it through all the accounting classes required by my finance major! Finishing with all those classes was a tough journey. The thought of looking at a company’s incomes and inventories does not appeal to me at all. I would like to handle individual clients and their assets and invest their money for them. That is what I enjoy doing.

My biggest achievement has been to finally fulfill a dream I have had since I was six years old – to be an SEC quarterback. That is what I’ve always dreamt of… just being able to start was a huge achievement itself. And our team beating both Texas A&M and Ole Miss last season was a huge achievement as well!

You know, in a way, I have been a lot more reclusive since this season started, in that I don’t just go and hang out a ton anymore. When I do go out, people will sometimes yell my name and want to take some pictures. It’s really cool but also really humbling. It’s a crazy change coming from South Georgia and having no one know your name, to having people want to come up and take pictures with you and get your autograph. I try not to let it go to my head though.

Well from a sports-related aspect, I really looked up to a football player by the name of David Green – a quarterback at the University of Georgia. He was always someone I wanted to be, because when I was little, that’s where I wanted to go play. He was a really successful quarterback, a good guy and a leader.

I seriously want to meet Tom Brady. I really want to sit down and talk with him and see what kind of a person he is and how he acts when he is away from the cameras.

I really enjoy going to hang out in Left Field Lounge at Dudy Noble Field. I love baseball and watching our team play, and Dudy Noble is just the greatest college baseball stadium ever.

I think so. We all play sports. We all go through the grind of being in college, taking classes and trying to be athletes at the same time – which is like a full-time job. So we definitely all have a mutual respect for each other. When you’re around fellow athletes, you’re really more comfortable than anything, so yeah, there’s kind of that bond.

If I am fortunate enough to go to the [National Football] League, to make money from a game that I’ve been playing since I was six, that would be fantastic! I’d love every minute of it, and I would give it my all. If I don’t get that chance though, I’d love to move to a bigger city like Atlanta or somewhere in Texas and be a financial advisor for individual clients.

Your past does not have to affect your future. You really can do anything you set your mind to do.