Mike DeChello, '15

Mike Dechello, ’15, started with hours in front of the computer, combing through blogs and researching internship and job possibilities in sports management. He sent 60 personal letters to agents around the country, which led to six follow-up phone calls. There was a separate process to apply for internship funding through UR Summer Fellowships.

But then he had it — a summer internship with Cornerstone Management, a full-service sports agency in Philadelphia.

Even as his field of choices narrowed, he was drawn to Cornerstone after speaking directly with an agent. DeChello heard how the company’s smaller scale would allow him to assume some of the responsibilities of a sports agent.

Those responsibilities started on day one, with an unexpected assignment.

“We had a meeting and the agents basically said, ‘we have these three players and you have to get them jobs,’” he says. “All the stuff is on the computer, and I could look at previous things that they’ve done. But I had to figure it out and design a way to get them contracts.”

DeChello wasn’t sure where to start. He didn’t have a background in sports management. He had prior accounting internships, but was looking something different this time around. When the avid sports fan came across a blog for sports agents and found a link for internships, it just clicked.

“I started saying, you know, why not me?” he says. And then those 60 letters — where DeChello described his excitement when the Richmond men’s basketball team defeated Virginia Commonwealth University in overtime — hit the postal system.

It turns out it wasn’t just a good move for finding an internship. DeChello’s contact list became a professional network as he started to figure out what it would take to place an athlete on a team. He contacted the athletes’ coaches and teammates to get a well-rounded picture of what kind of team would be the best fit. He wrote up résumés and player bios and compiled videos of games and highlight reels. He reached out to professional teams overseas, relying on agents abroad who had established connections with international teams.

“I started off the first two months just trying to do it myself,” he says. “It was challenging, because I didn’t have any credibility. After I sent [the agents] those letters and they contacted me, I formed relationships with them. I was able to reach out to them during the internship — even though it was a different agency — and they gave me advice that really helped.”

And in the end, it all paid off. DeChello ended up signing one player to a team in Ireland and another to a team in Canada.

“Just driving home the day that it happened, it was an unbelievable feeling,” he says. “It was pretty challenging, but I think if you know the right people and have the right connections and get the information in the right hands, it makes all the difference in the world.”