Advisors: Harvey Frommer Committee members: Barbara S. Kreiger; Julia Rabig.
Abstract:
Harvard in the NFL draws upon my personal story and the previously untapped recollections of twenty former Harvard football players who have gone on to careers in the National Football League (NFL) throughout the past five decades. Each section reveals key moments and pivotal decisions in the unpredictable journey from college to professional football, as told through the first-hand experiences of the athletes who lived them. While the stories in this thesis are not necessarily unique to a football player from Harvard, they illuminate the tangible and intangible factors which contribute to the disproportionately high number of Harvard football players among all Ivy League players currently on active NFL rosters.