During his time at the College, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson '68 started as an offensive lineman for the football team. ESPN writer and NBA analyst Ric Bucher '83 was a member of the varsity soccer team, while alumni council trustee nominee and President of UnitedHealthcare Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 was one of the most dominating women's basketball players in Dartmouth history.
Many notable Dartmouth alumni athletes have advanced to a wide spectrum of prominent jobs after successful collegiate playing careers, including Bucher, Boudreaux, Paulson, sports consultant at MVP Performance Institute Hilleary Hoskinson '83 and Jeffrey Immelt '78, the Chief Executive Officer of General Electric and a College trustee who was recently hand-selected by President Barack Obama to chair the newly-created Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.
Bucher said that the four years he spent as a varsity soccer player at the College taught him several life lessons applicable beyond his time at Dartmouth.
"[My athletic experience was] invaluable," Bucher said. "I cover basketball and I played soccer but there are a lot of elements that, when it comes to competing at a high level, translate from sport to sport that have been tremendously informative in helping me understand what guys are going through."
Bucher said that certain challenges he faced during his collegiate soccer career like a lack of initial playing time and a painful abdonminal injury his junior season taught him about resilience.
"Much like my career, I haven't always gotten to where I wanted to get to right away," he said. "But by battling through challenges, I've eventually been able to do everything I've wanted to do."
Bucher said that at Dartmouth he learned to measure people by their actions, rather than judging them by their name or celebrity status.
"I deal with a lot of famous people now, and when I'm talking to a Michael Jordan or a Kobe Bryant or a Kevin Garnett, I measure them by the person they are rather than their level of fame," he said. "I probably went to school with someone who either they, or their dad, are actually more accomplished than the guy that I'm interviewing."
Hoskinson a former All-Ivy, All-New England and honorable mention All-American lacrosse player said that the competitiveness he learned in collegiate lacrosse helped him adjust in his later career path.
After graduating, Hoskinson worked as a banker in New York City. He later moved to magazine publishing, an industry that Hoskinson said compares in surprising ways to his time on the lacrosse team.
After moving to California, Hoskinson used the lessons he learned to form MVP Performance Institute, a sports consulting company he created with former NBA consultant Tom Mitchell and former NFL quarterback Joe Montana. MVP Performance Institute aims to teach sports ideals like leadership and teamwork to business teams, according to Hoskinson.
"I saw some teams of people that worked really well together, I saw some teams of incredibly talented people who failed miserably, and I saw some teams of less talented individuals create magic," he said.
Hoskinson said he drew from lessons he learned from his lacrosse teams which were never dominated by one star player to create cohesive units willing to work together in a collective team effort.
Boudreaux led the Big Green women's basketball team in scoring for three years, was named Ivy League Player of the Year three times and still holds Dartmouth career records for points and rebounds, with 1,933 and 1,635, respectively. She was named All-Ivy four times.
Boudreaux was nominated for one of the two open seats on the Board of Trustees by the Alumni Council on Dec. 3, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Paulson, who played as an All-Ivy and All-East offensive lineman at Dartmouth before starting a career in business and government, also translated athletic prowess into future success. Paulson served as CEO of Goldman Sachs before being named U.S. Secretary Treasury by former President George W. Bush in 2006.
Paulson made several significant contributions in the position, spearheading an economic stabilization act that came to be known as the Paulson Plan. While an athlete at the College, Paulson contributed to the football team's 1965 undefeated season.
Immelt was a two-year starter on the Big Green football team. After graduation, Immelt received his MBA from Harvard University Business School and started work at General Electric in 1982.
A certain type of camaraderie exists between athletes at the College, even after they leave Dartmouth, Bucher said.
"There's a bond there with Dartmouth alums in general and I think it just reaches another level when you've participated in a sport," he said.
