For many professional sportsmen and women, the prospect of finding a second vocation is a reality they must consider. 

At the University of Bradford School of Management, two current rugby players and a footballer are laying the foundations for what happens after they hang up their boots by studying for a Master of Business Administration (MBA). 

MBA Director Nick Snowden said: "Sports people are intensely aware of the importance of leadership, coaching and getting the best out of ourselves and others. An MBA helps them to translate these skills into a business-relevant context, and provides a rewarding career path whenever their professional playing days come to an end."

Professor Sankar Sivarajah, Dean of the School of Management, added: "Our MBA programme, which is ranked among the best in the world, attracts a diverse range of students from different fields. It is a flexible and well-rounded programme which allows students -  regardless of their background -  to develop their management and leadership skills, and lay the foundations for whatever path they choose to take in the future."

The Distance Learning MBA was recently ranked 3rd in the UK and 25th globally by CEO magazine and the School of Management won Business School of the Year at the Times Higher Education awards, 2021. 

Here, Luke Morahan, Jannes Kirsten and Marvin Potzmann, discuss why they went back to the classroom - and how they managed to balance sport with studying. 

'You have to plan ahead'

Australian rugby player Luke Morahan moved to the UK in 2017 to join Bristol Bears and has recently transferred to French side, Bayonne. He is married to Madison, with whom he shares daughter, Matilda, three, and son, Oliver, one. 

Luke, pictured below, said: "Sport is pretty unique as a career, in the sense it can be short lived or quite extensive. I’ve been fortunate that mine has been longer than most, but you always have in the back of your mind that it could end soon and abruptly. We have it drilled into us that you need to look beyond the immediate and plan ahead. 

"In Australia, the natural progression is that you play for development programmes while at school and then, once you’ve finished school, there are opportunities to be taken on as a professional player alongside getting a university degree. 

"It’s not like English football where you might get a massive contract straight out of school. Nothing is guaranteed so it’s important to have a back-up, whether that’s study or a job or a trade."

Luke, 33, gained a BA in Business Management from Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia, while playing for his first professional team, the Queensland Reds. He won silver in the 2010 Commonwealth Games with the Australian sevens and has been called up to play internationally for the Australian national team, nicknamed the Wallabies. 

Speaking about his decision to study for an MBA at Bradford, Luke said: "I’ve always aimed to upskill myself and, after doing business management, the MBA felt like the next natural step to help with the transitional period from sport to the real world. 

"I want to stay busy and continually challenge myself intellectually as opposed to just physically. Because I needed to do distance-learning, I wanted the best programme I could get and Bradford is one of the best in the world.

"I would have really enjoyed coming into class, as I feel you gain a lot from being with your cohort, but that wasn’t possible for my situation. In terms of getting out of the course what I wanted to, it’s been fantastic."

Together with his teammate Jake Heenan, Luke runs two Bristol cafes, both named Burra, which has given him a taste for business. 

He said: “The cafes have given me some practical experience, which I’ve enjoyed and it’s been good to put into practice what I’ve been learning on the MBA. 

"I like having different projects on the go. Professional sport has its ups and downs on a weekly basis and it’s easy to dwell on it if you don’t have anything else going on. I’ve found it really beneficial, mentally, to spend a couple of hours on the businesses or on studying and focus on something other than rugby."

Juggling his career, businesses, studying and a young family keeps him busy. But Luke said: "I’m lucky that Madison picks up a lot of the slack at home and, with the cafes, we’ve got a fantastic team who all pitch in and do a great job running the places while Jake and I are taken off elsewhere."

'Most of us need a second career'

South African rugby player Jannes Kirsten, 29, played for Exeter Chiefs from 2019 until the end of this season and has recently moved back to his home country to play for Vodacom Bulls. It was the Covid-19 pandemic which prompted him to enroll in the online MBA.

Jannes, who has just graduated, said: "I moved to England on my own, with no family around. Then lockdown hit and of course we couldn’t play for months. When it became clear that it was going to take a long time to get back to normal, I started to think it would be a good time to start studying again.

"At the back of my mind, I’m always conscious of what happens after rugby and I’m always trying to improve myself. 

"I turn 30 this year. If I can play until I’m 35, then that’s a massive accomplishment, but that still means there’s another 30 years until retirement. My brother, Frik, played rugby professionally but then he injured his neck at the age of 24 and had to stop playing. 

"Some international players with endorsement deals might not have to worry about what comes next, but those top earners in rugby are a minority. Most of us need a second career. 

"I studied Investment Management at the University of Pretoria straight from school so I have that business background. I approached our career developer at the Rugby Players’ Association, which is the body that looks after the welfare of players in England, and he told me about the course at Bradford. 

"The flexibility was what most appealed. When you’re a full time sportsman, you can’t say to a coach, ‘I can’t play this week because I have a class.’ At Bradford, you can do the MBA in your own time, at your own pace, all online.

"I enjoyed all aspects, particularly the modules on management consultancy and innovation through technology, as well as branding and marketing. All these subjects, I had no idea about before. It all opens up new worlds to you. 

"For your elective modules, you get to choose subjects you’re interested in. I focused on the factors that influence retirement planning and financial planning of professional rugby players for my management project. In the future, I would like to help provide financial planning to young players, in whatever capacity. Hopefully, they would listen to someone who has been there and done that.

"My father runs a financial services company, which my siblings are also involved in, so now that I have moved back home and together with what I’ve learned on the MBA, I can start putting into place plans for my post-rugby career."

'Football doesn't last forever'

Footballer Marvin Potzmann has recently transferred from LASK, in the Austrian Bundesliga, to FK Austria Wien. The 29-year-old lives in Ilz, Austria, with his wife, Anja, and their two-year-old son Emilio. 

Marvin said: "My father played football when he was young but he never got the chance to play professionally because of a knee injury. He always supported my career but he and my brother both advised me to have something else in my back pocket to rely on. Football doesn’t last forever and you need to have a plan and a way to look after your family.

"I started playing football in primary school and at 14, I moved out of home to join an academy. It was a big step at such a young age, but that’s what you have to do if you want to make it as a professional. It was a great experience and I wouldn’t change anything."

Marvin, pictured above, originally from Ollersdorf, eastern Austria, played for three youth teams from 1999 to 2008. During those years, he would train with the academy in the morning and attend school in the afternoons, enabling him to pass the Matura, the final secondary school exams comparable to our A’levels. 

Soon after starting his professional career at SV Mattersburg, Marvin began studying part-time, online for a BA in Event and Sport Management, through the University of Northern Denmark. 

He said: "Football gave me a lot of spare time and I wanted to use it to train my brain and to do something that would be good for my future. 

"I believe studying also boosted my career. Prior to starting my degree, I wasn’t in the starting 11 and that all changed. With football, if things aren’t going well, it’s always on your mind. It was good for me to have that mental break away from football to concentrate on something else."

Now Marvin is in the middle of studying for the MBA, due to complete in October 2024, and enjoying every minute.

He said: "I wanted to enlarge my skills in other directions and the MBA seemed like a perfect fit for me. It’s all about managing my schedule with training, studying and family life, but I have so much support from my family.

"I have met some great people and the lecturers at Bradford are wonderful. I have learned so many interesting things and gained new angles and perspectives. 

"I don’t yet know what I would like to do after I finish playing but the knowledge I have gained on the MBA means I have so many possibilities. When the right time comes, I know I will be able to make a good decision for my future."

• To hear more about the University of Bradford’s MBA programmes, there is a webinar with MBA Director Nick Snowdon on Thursday July 13, 12.30 - 13.30.