As a former captain of the Bryant football team, Darnel Shillingford ’23, ’24MBA knows how important it is to look out for your teammates. Now, though, he’s extending that ethos by creating a playbook to help the next generation of athletes secure their financial futures.

“A first contract for $2 million is more money than most people have ever seen in their lives. In sports, though, it’s commonplace,” notes Shillingford, a former portfolio manager with Bryant’s student-run Archway Investment Fund. But 
having that money isn’t the same as stewarding it wisely, he points out, and many athletes lack the support, and the advice, they need to manage their wealth — which often leads to financial trouble post-retirement.

“It’s a big problem that affects athletes in every sport. So, I wanted to dive in and see what could be done to help solve it,” says Shillingford, who is considering a career in financial advising.

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His financial guidebook is inspired by Joshua Medcalf’s Chop Wood Carry Water, which tells the story of a boy's journey to achieve his lifelong goal of becoming a samurai warrior through simple lessons and small victories.

“If you just tell someone they need a 401(k), or to get a Roth IRA, it might not stick. This is an attempt to present that same information in a more engaging way.”

Shillingford’s guidebook will be composed of short chapters, each bearing a lesson for aspiring high school and college athletes. Some deal directly with finances, such as learning how to invest or building a savings plan. Others are broader, such as tips on choosing trusted advisors, or finding a fulfilling course of study that will sustain you beyond your chosen sport.

“If you just tell someone they need a 401(k), or to get a Roth IRA, it might not stick,” says Shillingford, who credits his family with teaching him the importance of responsible financial stewardship. “This is an attempt to present that same information in a more engaging way.”

The book’s origins lie in Shillingford’s undergraduate honors thesis, in which he worked with Finance Lecturer John Fellingham. He drew upon interviews with athletes from the Bryant network and found that many of those who were most successful at managing their finances had someone close to them they could turn to as a trusted advisor — but not everyone has that advantage.

His book, he hopes, can fill that gap. Because no team succeeds unless its members support one another.