Gino Torretta, the 1992 winner of the Heisman Trophy, will be speaking to the MC community Monday, April 14, at the 10:00 a.m. VIA convocation.  The topic will be “Life after the Heisman.”

  
Torretta attended the University of Miami, and was their starting quarterback for his junior and senior years.

  
Following his graduation from U of M, he was picked by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1993 draft. He played for five teams in the NFL before retiring in 1997.

  
He then worked as a Senior Financial Advisor for Wachovia Securities; currently, he works for the marketing team of Gabelli Asset Management with institutional and high net worth accounts.

  
MC football coach Shanon Griffith is curious to hear what Torretta will have to say. “Torretta had the advantage of the Heisman trophy and a recognizable name, which goes along with winning such an award,” Griffith said. “But he also had earned a degree from a highly reputable institution, which proved to be a huge asset.”

  
There’s a moral to Torretta’s story. “The number one reason kids come to college, whether they win the Heisman or not, is to get a degree,” Griffith said. “Torretta has gone on to have accomplished a great deal in an arena other than football—he has become successful because of what he does now.”

  
Although it is, of course, as yet unknown what exactly Torretta will discuss during his convocation presentation, Griffith says that there are certainly relevant lessons for MC students in Torreta’s life..

“He had a plan for the ‘what if,’” Griffith said. “Too many players at the collegiate level are all too willing to look at the millions of dollars without planning for changing circumstances.”

  
“Gino was smart enough to achieve in both realms,” he continued. “Athletes can have both—the competition offered by athletics and fulfillment of a degree in a field they love.”

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