December 17, 2024 • 25 mins
Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Gregory Green.
Coaching and mentoring are in Green’s DNA, and he concurrently serves as REACH Advisor and Head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach at Tuskegee University.
Since college, Green has been no stranger to hard work and has mastered being a student-athlete. He earned a Double Major in Psychology and Kinesiology from Winona State University and a Master's in Kinesiology from Ashwood University. He is the gold standard for any student-athlete.
Gregory L. Green Sr. has been an intricate part of athletic success on and off the field since 1995. While cultivating his coach’s acumen Green has humbly executed various roles in the collegiate athletic arena and has excelled in each capacity. Coach Green began his journey at Savannah State University in 1995 where he reveals that he is not just any coach. For the next four years this Cleveland native would serve as Defensive Coordinator for Football, the Judicial Affairs Coordinator, and the Head Men/Women Tennis Coach. Under Green the Women’s tennis program flourished toting the following accomplishments: the highest team GPA in the SIAC four times; SIAC Tennis Champs three times; and three NCCA Tennis Tournament appearances. While at Savannah State Coach Green’s prowess did not go unnoticed, he was the SIAC Conference Coach of the Year three of his four years there.
Green’s career would lead him to Tuskegee University in 2000 where he served as the Compliance Officer, Defensive Coordinator for Football, and the Head Men & Women Tennis Coach. While at Tuskegee for the next five years Coach Green’s legacy of success still reigned true on the football field with a nationally ranked defense each year and four SIAC Conference Football Champs. This success was mirrored on the tennis courts with four SIAC Conference Tennis Championships; six NCAA Tennis Tournament appearances; five-time SIAC Highest Team GPA for Men and Women; and four SIAC Conference Tennis Coach of the Year. Green’s prowess was recognized in house as well as he has also received Tuskegee’s Coach of the Year Award.
Green has touched various institutions as he has coached football at Winona State University, Kentucky State University, Texas Southern University, Alabama State University and Miles College consecutively. Green’s Midas touch is ever apparent as he has been a part of eighteen championships as a player and coach earning him the name, “The King of Rings.”
Coach Gregory L. Green Sr. continues to cultivate the lives of student athletes as he serves as the Coordinator of Student-Athlete Support Service at University of Alabama at Birmingham since 2011. Here Green proudly totes the highest football APR and GPA in UAB history.
Green has three daughters – Kira, Keisha, and Jazmine along with one son, Gregory Jr.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Above and beyond their athletics scholarships. Coaching and mentoring is
in his DNA, and he is concurrently served as Rich
Advisor and head Men and Women Tennis coach at Tuskegee University.
Please work with the money making Conversations Masterclass, Gregory Green,
how you don Gregory Hey?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
How you doing, Sir Donald? Pretty good?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
My friend Tuskegee. How did you get How do you
wind up in Tuskege? And I saying that's a bad thing,
but there's always a journey. I mean you not only
have done other things coach outside of the world of tennis.
Give us a little of your background before we really
get into the interview.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
H Well, I started, I'm from Cleveland, Ohio. I started
playing football in Texas at Sam Houston with Texas and
basically coach college football at different places Tuskegee, Alabama State,
Kentucky State, and also was coaching the Savannah State and
coached at tennis at both of those places too. And
(01:00):
now I'm back at Tuskegee coaching tennis and was the
director of academics at the University of Alabama and Birmingham.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Awesome. Awesome. Now you know we were off the offline.
We talked a little bit. I always talk about guests
prior to it, and I called him up and he
had a Houston number. So you've been in that Houston
community and that's where I was born and raised. Now
talk us about your experience in Houston.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Oh, Houston is a beautiful place. I call it four
line of stuff right in Houston. That's right, Houston's beautiful.
I was at Texas Southern and uh, that hospitality down
there was great. I also went to the school down there,
Sam Houston, which.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Is right down the road. That's Huntsville, Alabama. That's where
the prison at the prison down there.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yes, yes, sir, sir.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Uh, let's just talk about this n I L because
I wanted to let people understand your background before we
got into it. Because we mentioned in tennants and people
go n AL and tendants the all year about the
NIL associated with football and NL searching with basketball. But
it crosses all that athletic fields that are being made
available to sports. But we've always heard about the you know,
(02:06):
the black athlete you know being you know, being used,
you know, being kicked to the curve, you know, by
these institutions, and they're not benefiting not n AL has
popped up. Now, what difference is that making for the athlete? Now, Gregory, Well.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Let's giving them a great opportunity to market themselves and
make money. Uh. But but like anything else, you got
to have the talent first. It's not it's not just
gonna You're not just gonna get money because you're on
a team, unless unless, unless you get on some teams
like uh some power Fire programs. Everybody on a team
get a certain amount of money, uh through different programs
(02:46):
with different companies. And it's a lot more of you
selling yourself than the university selling you. And you got
to get out there and uh be marketable. You got
to get out there and had opportunity to uh put
your off on a on a national stage and and
just had a talent to go along with it.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
You got to have a talent, right because you know,
I was reading the day about Shaduah Sanders, Uh Leon Sanders.
So he bought one of his offensive linement a two
hundred thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Mayby call oh he can he can do that. He
getting like six to eight million dollars a year. He
can do that. Now he can buy you and I
one of those. And that's one of the great success
stories of this opportunity because it's been many years that
we put a lot of money in a lot of
(03:34):
these universities, right as athletes, and they didn't get anything. Well,
I'm gonna say he didn't get anything back because like
I always tell him, uh, don't, don't don't. You don't
be used used process and that's getting that degree, and
that's the most important thing. But nowadays they getting this
opportunity to get some changed in their pocket.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
And that's great too, right because I know that, Uh,
because the college scholarship. Now, just educate me a little bit. Now,
when you you on an HBC level, then you said
the word power five and then I hear the word FB,
as I hear the word division one, division two, explain
to me where HBCUs are at. And then a school
(04:12):
like say Ohio State in that relationship.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Okay, let's start with the big money. Let's start with
Ohio State. Ohio State alumni and they got different companies.
That's a part of the alumni programs and so they
able to get more money. That's how a lot of
this money comes from. It comes from companies and corporations
that want to donate back to their old school, and
one way to do it is through this new NLI
way instead of like they did back in the day
(04:39):
when I was in school, they just give you an
envelope and you got a little money that way. Now
it's tax reductible getting a large amount of money. Right,
you're getting a large amount of You get a large
amount of money. Majority of that money from those Power
five teams like Ohio State. It's some companies that cover
the whole team, regardless what position they play. They just
give everybody, Okay, every buy this team's gonna get at
(05:01):
least three thousand, at least three thousand dollars. That's per year,
per semester, per month. Who knows how it goes the people.
And then there's that still special athletes that's getting that
special money from special companies and corporations where they're getting
in the millions. Like we're just talking about Sanders making
almost sick things you make, I think it's six or
(05:21):
eight million dollars. He's the highest paid in l I
got right now. Now, when it comes to Division one,
Division two HBCUs, there is a few schools that's that's
doing pretty good. They're players here is getting a couple
of thousand dollars here and there, and and that that
goes a long way some schools, even like you ain't
being other schools. You you can probably get close to
(05:42):
five five to six thousand dollars a semester along with
other things that's going on. So it puts some money
in the pocket. Uh, it is put some money in
your pocket. And it's always people think that it's the
deal that you make. It's not the deal that the
school always going to have for you. Right. Say for instance,
if I'm met let's say Tuskegee, right, and I got
(06:05):
alumni that works for Procter and Gamo, and he wants
to do a big thing. Hey, I want to who
who can we use to advertise our business along with
support in the pocket. So they may come to us
and say, okay, I said, hey, I got this guy.
It's the guy that we probably need to promote. And
that money can vary from It's not in the millions,
(06:28):
but you can get some good money to take care
of travel back home. It's better than what we used
to get.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Well, you know it's always say gregor you know it's
you know apples are does it really is?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
You know?
Speaker 1 (06:39):
You know, like like we started with Power five, this
is money making Conversations master class. We're about to talk
about some money.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
The Ohio State they're collective, that's what they call these
little collectives. Nil. They put thegether a collective of twenty
million dollars for their football team of this year. And
they went out there and they bought everybody bought. They
bought Klib from Alabama. They bought the running back from Mississippi.
They bought the quarterback Will Howard from k State. They
(07:08):
bought players all up and guess what they still lost
to Michigan. Okay, and so and so people, and they're collective.
They mad and Ryan Daye see they when they give
out the money, they expect the results. Then you have
quarterbacks in high school who never played a college down,
like this young man named Underwood. He was supposed to
(07:29):
go to LSU, supposed to go to LSU. Now last minute,
he's now going to Michigan. Where it is Michigan is
going to pay him eight million dollars.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Absolutely, eight to ten million dollars.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
I've been corrected through the glass. Eight to ten million dollars.
He's not even throwing a college pass. That is the
difference that is happening right in front of our eyes.
And so if you're not offering these kids money, and
some of the coaches are frustrated by that now, but
guess what, so what you used to just because am
(08:04):
I like you can correctly if I'm wrong in this gregory,
It's like there's no such thing as a full scholarship.
A kid scholarship can be taken every year away from
them athletic wise.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Correct, absolutely absolutely, and the coach can leave at any time.
So I gotta I gotta fun a college football. So
he's playing college ball. So I understand that whole process
inside out, and I played myself. It's a lot of
catch twenty two's everything. The first part you mentioned about,
(08:36):
let's let's it's an investment for that company. Right, that
company is Ohio State. Let's let's start that that's company.
That's the investment now. And just like you do when
you was talking about stocks and everything else, sometimes the
investment don't come through for you, right that that investment
don't go down. Now, what do you do? Is the
contract already out there that that kid guaranteed this money
(08:57):
or is it just there guarantee for this year or
how does that work? That's the thing that's also that
people got to be thinking. The money may start a
certain way, but it may not end up that way.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Right right now. And that happens a lot. Yeah, that
happens a lot out there because the whole, the whole
money situation is getting so convoluted because you have the collective.
It is the collective working for the school. Uh, you know,
in all these different situations. But it's a lot of
money out there that's changing kids mind. I think they
(09:30):
said the going rate because everybody gets intoto a transfer port.
I just want to educate people about how when you
graduate from these colleges, you graduate from these schools. How
now these athletes they're really professionals who are being paid now,
which is a great thing, by the way, it's a
great thing because you used to be they will They
(09:51):
couldn't even sell T shirts if they if they sold
they autograph, they got suspended, They lost their academic collegship, scholarships,
lost their scholarship just for signing off autographs. This is
just this less than ten years ago, y'all. And so
Now that lets you know how much money that the
(10:11):
school was getting on top of these students. If a
high school quarterback, come on that Gregory high school quarterback
is being paid ten million dollars to go to the
University of Michigan. And like you said, everybody on the
university's Uni Michigan team is getting a check yep. And
(10:33):
some of them are getting like they have like set rates,
like every offensive lineman will get a minimum of fifty
thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Yep. This is just fact, absolutely, just fact, absolutely absolute, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
And so now your son when he's playing college football, Now,
how does he look at the whole nil from his perspective.
I'm not saying, I'm not trying to get into your business,
but he's in the game. How the athletes is it's
a different business for him that he's walking into versus
would you experience as a college football player.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Absolutely absolutely Fosness to McDonald, it's it's a it's a
different because he you know, he's young. He's looking at
how many Tennis was thinking about, So he's looking at
who's giving them the most money, not not not not
the scheme of what can help him develop him and
make him a better player, not the academic but the
academy surrounding that he's going to be in. He's looking
(11:28):
at what can he get right now? Who's gonna give
me the most money right now? And it changed the game.
And you got coaches that's really in the crackmire because
this kid's making more than me. Hey. And then you've
got like the Toroado, you got something much more than
the presidents at the university. So how do you control
(11:52):
a young kid that frontal lobe had not even been
developed yet to keep the main thing the main thing? So,
but the money is there, The money is there. Is
just it's gonna be the skill set. And uh, but
a lot of kids don't look at they look at
they look right at that money and what they can
do for them.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Well, in some ways, I'm gonna tell you something, Gregory,
and thank you for calling and being on my show,
Money Making Conversation master Class. I'm talking to Gregor Green.
He's the head coach at tennis coach at Tuskegee University,
and his background has been he played college football, has
coached college football, and is well versed into collegiate athletics.
(12:30):
And we're talking about nil and how NIL is now
uh changed the game in a good way. And and
and every school that's participating has to have some type
of NIL collective in order to entice players to come
to the school. It's no longer now like you said,
your son, he's more he's not worried about the scheme.
(12:50):
He's worried about, Hey, how what I'm gonna get? What
I'm gonna get? And that's what Nick Saban, one of
the greatest college football coaches of all times, say he
couldn't take it no more. He couldn't take it them all,
you know, he over there trying to. She just came in.
The parents over there worried about what they sung gonna get,
you know, as far as a salary and to trust
is laws. But I don't know if I'm kind of
(13:12):
called in the middle of that, Greg And you can
help me out here, sir.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
You know.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
You've had athletes that you could take this scholarship away.
So if you if you recruited them, that doesn't mean
that that scholarship could be there for four years. They
can recruit over recruit a class and they tell you,
invite you an office, say hey, you might want to
transfer because we don't have room for you anymore. That
can easily happen.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Man, please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with
more Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money
Making Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations
Masterclass continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow Money
(14:00):
Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
That's an easily help yep. Absolutely, it happens every day.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
And now you have the transfer portal, and the transfer
portal allows these students and a lot of them make
mistakes because some of them should not be transferring. And
let's talk about they explain to everybody what the transfer
a portal is, Gregory.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
The transfer a portal, it's a it's it's a good
in the back, Uh. The good thing about it. If
a kid feels that he's or she is in a
position that she's not getting growth, she's not happy what
she is, she can put her name in the portal.
She goes to the compliance officer at the school. They
automatically get in the portal. Now every coach in the
country just looks at the portal on some coaches look
(14:42):
at her, look at the portal on daily basis and
see who's who's new in there, and they see you
in there. Now you're able to make contacts and that
student can transfer. No sitting out a whole year, you
can transfer immediately. So I mean, as soon as that
semester is over, you'll be able to transfer into that
that next university. Which is a thing. Uh, the challenging
(15:02):
things is, all right, what are we teaching our kids?
Are we teaching when things get a little tough that
we're just gonna quit and go somewhere else? And who's
to say that where you're going it's gonna be better.
So it's a lot of And then when you get
out there in the portal, if you're leaving my school
to get out of the portal any other school, I'm
gonna have to go recruit somebody else. So I'm gonna
(15:23):
take the I'm ready to remove the scholarship for next
semester to give to somebody else. What to say that
you don't get nobody to pull on your strings and
you don't get the opportunity to go to another school.
Now you don't put yourself out there and you ain't
got nowhere to go. So it's a lot of different
connections to that.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Well, you know, the interesting thing about it is that
and I appreciate you, and we're gonna talk about your
coaching that Tuski gets ahead tennis coach. But I just
think that when I get somebody and I have to say,
you're you know you're you're an expert in this area
and can talk about it not only from a coaching standpoint,
but you have a son right in the middle of it.
(16:00):
And it's and I now I'm telling everybody, it's a
great thing. It's a great thing to be able to
now be able to transfer if you're uncomfortable, if you're
not getting playing time, like you said, you know.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Absolutely used to be like you.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
You compete now if you if you you second third string,
you're gonna lead. But what does that teach you when
you leave? Does that? Does that teach you that when
they go and get tough, exit stage right, or you
try to make yourself improve, go to the coach. What
do I have to do to be able to compete? Compete?
And that's what life is about. Competing. You do a
(16:34):
lot of mentorship. Gregory talking to us about that and
the young people and mentoring the desire to compete instead
of exiting for like they say, greener pastors.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Right, absolutely, and and it's challenging, you know. The kids
got to understand that that that life is, that's life
not is not fair, It's going to be opposite. It's
only I tell them, it's the only two things we
can control. That's all right, And it's across the board.
It's only two things in life you can really control.
That's your attitude and your effort. So regardless of what
(17:07):
happened to you, what is your attitude? What did your
attitude looks like when somebody tells you, okay, you're on
the second string, you're not the starting quarterback? Right now?
Does that say? Am I going do? I gotta know?
Is my attitude gonna be right? Did I'm a push
myself and challenge it? Or if I'm not gonna get
the effort that I deserve or I should put out.
So I got to challenge the kid to say, uh,
(17:29):
And I tell my son, I tell all of my
players and the people that I counseled, I say, you
got to find out what you want out of life. First,
you gotta understand what motivates you, what makes you feel
like I got to go get it. Whatever that thing is,
you need to have that fastered everywhere throughout your life.
When you wake up in the morning, it should be
right on your mirror. I want to be this, this
(17:50):
is where I'm going today and seeing it? Why you
brushing your teeth every day? Just keep pushing yourself and
understand it's got to come from intrinsic. It's got to
come from you. I can motivate you, extra to you
a little bit, but it's got to come from you. You
gotta have that want to. And sometime when you got
this opportunity and you you was to all, you was
all everything in high school and somebody says, you're not
(18:12):
that guy yet. Are you going to quit or are
you going to not challenge yourself or compete for the spot?
Or are you going to say, hey, I'm just gonna
throw my name in the porter and go somewhere else
and then yes and hope that I made the right decisions.
So I just try to tell the may whatever you
want to do, you can do it. You just got
to realize it takes work to get it done. It
(18:34):
takes great attitude and great effort to be greatness.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
And they always in the word there are always consequences, consequences,
consequences and trust and sometimes you can be leaving an
area of trust going to a business. You can easily
change the word trust and family to a business, and
business will kick you to the curb even faster because
that's where you came over, because business decision. Now let's
(19:01):
talk about tennis, sir. You know, my daughter was fortunately
now very fortunate. My daughter played tennis as she injured
her heard her knee, and she was on the WTA circuit,
you know, and of course she was inspired by Venus
and Serena Williams. And they're no longer Venus and sul
Reena Williams out there. Tell us the state before we
get into Tuskee. Tell us your state, and you'll feel
(19:21):
about African Americans who are now playing professional tennis, both
on the male side and the female side.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Oh man, we got some great young talent. We got
some talent coming in tennis on then in the world,
on the world stage. That it may not be Venus
and Serena, but we got some good ones out here
on both sides of men and women. That's out here
doing some great things. Some of them are coming from
different lifestyle. We got the kid from Georgia Tech, he
went through college. Chris still made it to the pro circuit. Yeah,
(19:52):
it's him right for him to do it that way.
That made my life a lot better because you don't
got to go You don't have to go straight to
the pro at fifteen and sixteen and seventeen. You can
go to college, get a degree and still make it
to be one of the top ten uh uh tennis
players in the world. So that was great to see
that going on. And then there's other ones that you know,
(20:13):
you gotta pay a lot of money to get it done.
You gotta you gotta go through the training and everything.
But I think, uh, we got we got some. We
got some. We got some talented young tennis players coming up.
That's gonna be awesome and it's gonna represent uh, not
only our race out of our country. I think we're
gonna do well. We're doing well.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
So tell us about your your tennis program up there.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Coach oh Man, I got the best athletes in the world.
Talk to me through world man Man, I got the best. Hey, Hey,
this is tu Skeiker University. The rip Ron Academic of
the South. You know, we we we got some of
the best. I got some I've been blessed with some
of the best talent. And you know what, we not
(20:54):
only winning championships, you know, I had my my women's
and my man's team had the highest GPA in the
confer friends, highest GPA in the region. And and winning
tennis championships, doing internships, becoming engineers, nursers, just doing great
things man, and uh, I've been blessed. I mean, I
got a great I got a great product to sell
(21:16):
and uh, and it's easy for me to bring in
talented players. And I got a great athletic director and
our new president. We got we got we really got
a lot of good things going on to Skeigee right
now and toward the future for tennis. Just came off
of championship with our women's team. Uh, and I guarantee
we're gonna win it again. And our men's team and
(21:37):
our men's team is right there ready to win it
this year coming up. Also, So I'm in I'm gonna
blessed great state. And and it's just like I said,
it's it's great to know that they're student athletes. They
are graduating man having having internships. There's sophomore years and
and choosing what job they want to take by their
(21:57):
junior year. It's awesome. And winning championship. It's a great thing.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
That's awesome. Now, how do you recruit your talent or
does talent contact you? How does that recruiting process work
for you? Coach Green down at uh Tueskiga University, It.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Goes both ways. Most of it. I gotta hunt, I
gotta get out there. I got to The budget allowed
me to get out there and see talent. Uh. But
a lot of people uh and also do well with
people were sending me in video, send me a video
tape to see you playing, and uh, let's look at it.
And then I invite you to the campus and see
you live, introduce you to my players and see how
(22:34):
that thing WI will work out. And if it works out,
we we we're doing well. So it's both ways.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Wow, you know I I The great thing about this
whole world that you're in is that you're dealing with
a youth. Your your your influencer, that's what I call it.
You your influencer people leaders and things like that. And
when I talked to you, and I got an opportunity.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
To interview you.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
You're you at the You're at the hub right there, sir,
of our future. And if you give to give any
advice to parents who are listening, that not just attending Tuskegee,
but just it's kids in general. What you see and
what you enjoy about working with students.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Uh, I love it. This is this is my retirement job.
I think parents need to know they need to let
the kid make the decision. Let them see different opportunities,
different places they can go, but let them, let them
get a feel of the environment that they're gonna be
in for next four years, and let them make that decision.
Because the worst thing you want to do is you
(23:36):
make the decision for them because when it don't work,
guess who fault is, right, But when it does, but
when it don't, when it does work or what it
don't work, they can always say, hey, I made this decision.
I'm willing to work it out. So that give them,
give that student athlete that ownership and let them make
those decisions and just you know, just just throw the
odds out at them, give them the pluses and the
(23:57):
minus and let them do the math.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
I'll tell you what Coach Green Uh annual student fall
and spring. I got to talk to you, brother, You're
my motivator and I want to thank you for coming
on Money Making Conversation Masterclass, brother, because you've taught me
a lot and I appreciate you coming on my show.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Thank you very much for you guys allowed us to
be here. I right you.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
We talked soon as you know. As we close out
the show, I want to just thank everybody who comes
on my show.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
This has been another episode of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
hosted by me Rashan McDonald. Thank you to all our
guests on the show today and thank you our listening
audience now. If you want to listen to any episodes
or want to be a guest on the show, visit
our website Moneymakingconversation dot com. Our social media handles are
money Making Conversations. Join us next week and remember to
(24:45):
always lead with your gifts. Keep winning. This has been
another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass hosted by me
Rashwan McDonald. Thank you to our guests on the show
today and thank you our listening to the audience now.
If you want to listen to any episode I want
to your guest on the show. Visit Moneymakingconversations dot com.
Our social media handle is Moneymaking Conversation. Join us next
(25:07):
week and remember to always leave with your gifts. Keep winning.
Above and beyond their athletics scholarships. Coaching and mentoring is
in his DNA, and he is concurrently served as Rich
Advisor and head Men and Women Tennis coach at Tuskegee University.
Please work with the money making Conversations Masterclass, Gregory Green,
how you don Gregory Hey?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
How you doing, Sir Donald? Pretty good?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
My friend Tuskegee. How did you get How do you
wind up in Tuskege? And I saying that's a bad thing,
but there's always a journey. I mean you not only
have done other things coach outside of the world of tennis.
Give us a little of your background before we really
get into the interview.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
H Well, I started, I'm from Cleveland, Ohio. I started
playing football in Texas at Sam Houston with Texas and
basically coach college football at different places Tuskegee, Alabama State,
Kentucky State, and also was coaching the Savannah State and
coached at tennis at both of those places too. And
(01:00):
now I'm back at Tuskegee coaching tennis and was the
director of academics at the University of Alabama and Birmingham.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Awesome. Awesome. Now you know we were off the offline.
We talked a little bit. I always talk about guests
prior to it, and I called him up and he
had a Houston number. So you've been in that Houston
community and that's where I was born and raised. Now
talk us about your experience in Houston.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Oh, Houston is a beautiful place. I call it four
line of stuff right in Houston. That's right, Houston's beautiful.
I was at Texas Southern and uh, that hospitality down
there was great. I also went to the school down there,
Sam Houston, which.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Is right down the road. That's Huntsville, Alabama. That's where
the prison at the prison down there.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yes, yes, sir, sir.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Uh, let's just talk about this n I L because
I wanted to let people understand your background before we
got into it. Because we mentioned in tennants and people
go n AL and tendants the all year about the
NIL associated with football and NL searching with basketball. But
it crosses all that athletic fields that are being made
available to sports. But we've always heard about the you know,
(02:06):
the black athlete you know being you know, being used,
you know, being kicked to the curve, you know, by
these institutions, and they're not benefiting not n AL has
popped up. Now, what difference is that making for the athlete? Now, Gregory, Well.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Let's giving them a great opportunity to market themselves and
make money. Uh. But but like anything else, you got
to have the talent first. It's not it's not just
gonna You're not just gonna get money because you're on
a team, unless unless, unless you get on some teams
like uh some power Fire programs. Everybody on a team
get a certain amount of money, uh through different programs
(02:46):
with different companies. And it's a lot more of you
selling yourself than the university selling you. And you got
to get out there and uh be marketable. You got
to get out there and had opportunity to uh put
your off on a on a national stage and and
just had a talent to go along with it.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
You got to have a talent, right because you know,
I was reading the day about Shaduah Sanders, Uh Leon Sanders.
So he bought one of his offensive linement a two
hundred thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Mayby call oh he can he can do that. He
getting like six to eight million dollars a year. He
can do that. Now he can buy you and I
one of those. And that's one of the great success
stories of this opportunity because it's been many years that
we put a lot of money in a lot of
(03:34):
these universities, right as athletes, and they didn't get anything. Well,
I'm gonna say he didn't get anything back because like
I always tell him, uh, don't, don't don't. You don't
be used used process and that's getting that degree, and
that's the most important thing. But nowadays they getting this
opportunity to get some changed in their pocket.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
And that's great too, right because I know that, Uh,
because the college scholarship. Now, just educate me a little bit. Now,
when you you on an HBC level, then you said
the word power five and then I hear the word FB,
as I hear the word division one, division two, explain
to me where HBCUs are at. And then a school
(04:12):
like say Ohio State in that relationship.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Okay, let's start with the big money. Let's start with
Ohio State. Ohio State alumni and they got different companies.
That's a part of the alumni programs and so they
able to get more money. That's how a lot of
this money comes from. It comes from companies and corporations
that want to donate back to their old school, and
one way to do it is through this new NLI
way instead of like they did back in the day
(04:39):
when I was in school, they just give you an
envelope and you got a little money that way. Now
it's tax reductible getting a large amount of money. Right,
you're getting a large amount of You get a large
amount of money. Majority of that money from those Power
five teams like Ohio State. It's some companies that cover
the whole team, regardless what position they play. They just
give everybody, Okay, every buy this team's gonna get at
(05:01):
least three thousand, at least three thousand dollars. That's per year,
per semester, per month. Who knows how it goes the people.
And then there's that still special athletes that's getting that
special money from special companies and corporations where they're getting
in the millions. Like we're just talking about Sanders making
almost sick things you make, I think it's six or
(05:21):
eight million dollars. He's the highest paid in l I
got right now. Now, when it comes to Division one,
Division two HBCUs, there is a few schools that's that's
doing pretty good. They're players here is getting a couple
of thousand dollars here and there, and and that that
goes a long way some schools, even like you ain't
being other schools. You you can probably get close to
(05:42):
five five to six thousand dollars a semester along with
other things that's going on. So it puts some money
in the pocket. Uh, it is put some money in
your pocket. And it's always people think that it's the
deal that you make. It's not the deal that the
school always going to have for you. Right. Say for instance,
if I'm met let's say Tuskegee, right, and I got
(06:05):
alumni that works for Procter and Gamo, and he wants
to do a big thing. Hey, I want to who
who can we use to advertise our business along with
support in the pocket. So they may come to us
and say, okay, I said, hey, I got this guy.
It's the guy that we probably need to promote. And
that money can vary from It's not in the millions,
(06:28):
but you can get some good money to take care
of travel back home. It's better than what we used
to get.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Well, you know it's always say gregor you know it's
you know apples are does it really is?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
You know?
Speaker 1 (06:39):
You know, like like we started with Power five, this
is money making Conversations master class. We're about to talk
about some money.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
The Ohio State they're collective, that's what they call these
little collectives. Nil. They put thegether a collective of twenty
million dollars for their football team of this year. And
they went out there and they bought everybody bought. They
bought Klib from Alabama. They bought the running back from Mississippi.
They bought the quarterback Will Howard from k State. They
(07:08):
bought players all up and guess what they still lost
to Michigan. Okay, and so and so people, and they're collective.
They mad and Ryan Daye see they when they give
out the money, they expect the results. Then you have
quarterbacks in high school who never played a college down,
like this young man named Underwood. He was supposed to
(07:29):
go to LSU, supposed to go to LSU. Now last minute,
he's now going to Michigan. Where it is Michigan is
going to pay him eight million dollars.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Absolutely, eight to ten million dollars.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
I've been corrected through the glass. Eight to ten million dollars.
He's not even throwing a college pass. That is the
difference that is happening right in front of our eyes.
And so if you're not offering these kids money, and
some of the coaches are frustrated by that now, but
guess what, so what you used to just because am
(08:04):
I like you can correctly if I'm wrong in this gregory,
It's like there's no such thing as a full scholarship.
A kid scholarship can be taken every year away from
them athletic wise.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Correct, absolutely absolutely, and the coach can leave at any time.
So I gotta I gotta fun a college football. So
he's playing college ball. So I understand that whole process
inside out, and I played myself. It's a lot of
catch twenty two's everything. The first part you mentioned about,
(08:36):
let's let's it's an investment for that company. Right, that
company is Ohio State. Let's let's start that that's company.
That's the investment now. And just like you do when
you was talking about stocks and everything else, sometimes the
investment don't come through for you, right that that investment
don't go down. Now, what do you do? Is the
contract already out there that that kid guaranteed this money
(08:57):
or is it just there guarantee for this year or
how does that work? That's the thing that's also that
people got to be thinking. The money may start a
certain way, but it may not end up that way.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Right right now. And that happens a lot. Yeah, that
happens a lot out there because the whole, the whole
money situation is getting so convoluted because you have the collective.
It is the collective working for the school. Uh, you know,
in all these different situations. But it's a lot of
money out there that's changing kids mind. I think they
(09:30):
said the going rate because everybody gets intoto a transfer port.
I just want to educate people about how when you
graduate from these colleges, you graduate from these schools. How
now these athletes they're really professionals who are being paid now,
which is a great thing, by the way, it's a
great thing because you used to be they will They
(09:51):
couldn't even sell T shirts if they if they sold
they autograph, they got suspended, They lost their academic collegship, scholarships,
lost their scholarship just for signing off autographs. This is
just this less than ten years ago, y'all. And so
Now that lets you know how much money that the
(10:11):
school was getting on top of these students. If a
high school quarterback, come on that Gregory high school quarterback
is being paid ten million dollars to go to the
University of Michigan. And like you said, everybody on the
university's Uni Michigan team is getting a check yep. And
(10:33):
some of them are getting like they have like set rates,
like every offensive lineman will get a minimum of fifty
thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Yep. This is just fact, absolutely, just fact, absolutely absolute, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
And so now your son when he's playing college football, Now,
how does he look at the whole nil from his perspective.
I'm not saying, I'm not trying to get into your business,
but he's in the game. How the athletes is it's
a different business for him that he's walking into versus
would you experience as a college football player.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Absolutely absolutely Fosness to McDonald, it's it's a it's a
different because he you know, he's young. He's looking at
how many Tennis was thinking about, So he's looking at
who's giving them the most money, not not not not
the scheme of what can help him develop him and
make him a better player, not the academic but the
academy surrounding that he's going to be in. He's looking
(11:28):
at what can he get right now? Who's gonna give
me the most money right now? And it changed the game.
And you got coaches that's really in the crackmire because
this kid's making more than me. Hey. And then you've
got like the Toroado, you got something much more than
the presidents at the university. So how do you control
(11:52):
a young kid that frontal lobe had not even been
developed yet to keep the main thing the main thing? So,
but the money is there, The money is there. Is
just it's gonna be the skill set. And uh, but
a lot of kids don't look at they look at
they look right at that money and what they can
do for them.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Well, in some ways, I'm gonna tell you something, Gregory,
and thank you for calling and being on my show,
Money Making Conversation master Class. I'm talking to Gregor Green.
He's the head coach at tennis coach at Tuskegee University,
and his background has been he played college football, has
coached college football, and is well versed into collegiate athletics.
(12:30):
And we're talking about nil and how NIL is now
uh changed the game in a good way. And and
and every school that's participating has to have some type
of NIL collective in order to entice players to come
to the school. It's no longer now like you said,
your son, he's more he's not worried about the scheme.
(12:50):
He's worried about, Hey, how what I'm gonna get? What
I'm gonna get? And that's what Nick Saban, one of
the greatest college football coaches of all times, say he
couldn't take it no more. He couldn't take it them all,
you know, he over there trying to. She just came in.
The parents over there worried about what they sung gonna get,
you know, as far as a salary and to trust
is laws. But I don't know if I'm kind of
(13:12):
called in the middle of that, Greg And you can
help me out here, sir.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
You know.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
You've had athletes that you could take this scholarship away.
So if you if you recruited them, that doesn't mean
that that scholarship could be there for four years. They
can recruit over recruit a class and they tell you,
invite you an office, say hey, you might want to
transfer because we don't have room for you anymore. That
can easily happen.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Man, please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with
more Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money
Making Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations
Masterclass continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow Money
(14:00):
Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
That's an easily help yep. Absolutely, it happens every day.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
And now you have the transfer portal, and the transfer
portal allows these students and a lot of them make
mistakes because some of them should not be transferring. And
let's talk about they explain to everybody what the transfer
a portal is, Gregory.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
The transfer a portal, it's a it's it's a good
in the back, Uh. The good thing about it. If
a kid feels that he's or she is in a
position that she's not getting growth, she's not happy what
she is, she can put her name in the portal.
She goes to the compliance officer at the school. They
automatically get in the portal. Now every coach in the
country just looks at the portal on some coaches look
(14:42):
at her, look at the portal on daily basis and
see who's who's new in there, and they see you
in there. Now you're able to make contacts and that
student can transfer. No sitting out a whole year, you
can transfer immediately. So I mean, as soon as that
semester is over, you'll be able to transfer into that
that next university. Which is a thing. Uh, the challenging
(15:02):
things is, all right, what are we teaching our kids?
Are we teaching when things get a little tough that
we're just gonna quit and go somewhere else? And who's
to say that where you're going it's gonna be better.
So it's a lot of And then when you get
out there in the portal, if you're leaving my school
to get out of the portal any other school, I'm
gonna have to go recruit somebody else. So I'm gonna
(15:23):
take the I'm ready to remove the scholarship for next
semester to give to somebody else. What to say that
you don't get nobody to pull on your strings and
you don't get the opportunity to go to another school.
Now you don't put yourself out there and you ain't
got nowhere to go. So it's a lot of different
connections to that.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Well, you know, the interesting thing about it is that
and I appreciate you, and we're gonna talk about your
coaching that Tuski gets ahead tennis coach. But I just
think that when I get somebody and I have to say,
you're you know you're you're an expert in this area
and can talk about it not only from a coaching standpoint,
but you have a son right in the middle of it.
(16:00):
And it's and I now I'm telling everybody, it's a
great thing. It's a great thing to be able to
now be able to transfer if you're uncomfortable, if you're
not getting playing time, like you said, you know.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Absolutely used to be like you.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
You compete now if you if you you second third string,
you're gonna lead. But what does that teach you when
you leave? Does that? Does that teach you that when
they go and get tough, exit stage right, or you
try to make yourself improve, go to the coach. What
do I have to do to be able to compete? Compete?
And that's what life is about. Competing. You do a
(16:34):
lot of mentorship. Gregory talking to us about that and
the young people and mentoring the desire to compete instead
of exiting for like they say, greener pastors.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Right, absolutely, and and it's challenging, you know. The kids
got to understand that that that life is, that's life
not is not fair, It's going to be opposite. It's
only I tell them, it's the only two things we
can control. That's all right, And it's across the board.
It's only two things in life you can really control.
That's your attitude and your effort. So regardless of what
(17:07):
happened to you, what is your attitude? What did your
attitude looks like when somebody tells you, okay, you're on
the second string, you're not the starting quarterback? Right now?
Does that say? Am I going do? I gotta know?
Is my attitude gonna be right? Did I'm a push
myself and challenge it? Or if I'm not gonna get
the effort that I deserve or I should put out.
So I got to challenge the kid to say, uh,
(17:29):
And I tell my son, I tell all of my
players and the people that I counseled, I say, you
got to find out what you want out of life. First,
you gotta understand what motivates you, what makes you feel
like I got to go get it. Whatever that thing is,
you need to have that fastered everywhere throughout your life.
When you wake up in the morning, it should be
right on your mirror. I want to be this, this
(17:50):
is where I'm going today and seeing it? Why you
brushing your teeth every day? Just keep pushing yourself and
understand it's got to come from intrinsic. It's got to
come from you. I can motivate you, extra to you
a little bit, but it's got to come from you. You
gotta have that want to. And sometime when you got
this opportunity and you you was to all, you was
all everything in high school and somebody says, you're not
(18:12):
that guy yet. Are you going to quit or are
you going to not challenge yourself or compete for the spot?
Or are you going to say, hey, I'm just gonna
throw my name in the porter and go somewhere else
and then yes and hope that I made the right decisions.
So I just try to tell the may whatever you
want to do, you can do it. You just got
to realize it takes work to get it done. It
(18:34):
takes great attitude and great effort to be greatness.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
And they always in the word there are always consequences, consequences,
consequences and trust and sometimes you can be leaving an
area of trust going to a business. You can easily
change the word trust and family to a business, and
business will kick you to the curb even faster because
that's where you came over, because business decision. Now let's
(19:01):
talk about tennis, sir. You know, my daughter was fortunately
now very fortunate. My daughter played tennis as she injured
her heard her knee, and she was on the WTA circuit,
you know, and of course she was inspired by Venus
and Serena Williams. And they're no longer Venus and sul
Reena Williams out there. Tell us the state before we
get into Tuskee. Tell us your state, and you'll feel
(19:21):
about African Americans who are now playing professional tennis, both
on the male side and the female side.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Oh man, we got some great young talent. We got
some talent coming in tennis on then in the world,
on the world stage. That it may not be Venus
and Serena, but we got some good ones out here
on both sides of men and women. That's out here
doing some great things. Some of them are coming from
different lifestyle. We got the kid from Georgia Tech, he
went through college. Chris still made it to the pro circuit. Yeah,
(19:52):
it's him right for him to do it that way.
That made my life a lot better because you don't
got to go You don't have to go straight to
the pro at fifteen and sixteen and seventeen. You can
go to college, get a degree and still make it
to be one of the top ten uh uh tennis
players in the world. So that was great to see
that going on. And then there's other ones that you know,
(20:13):
you gotta pay a lot of money to get it done.
You gotta you gotta go through the training and everything.
But I think, uh, we got we got some. We
got some. We got some talented young tennis players coming up.
That's gonna be awesome and it's gonna represent uh, not
only our race out of our country. I think we're
gonna do well. We're doing well.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
So tell us about your your tennis program up there.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Coach oh Man, I got the best athletes in the world.
Talk to me through world man Man, I got the best. Hey, Hey,
this is tu Skeiker University. The rip Ron Academic of
the South. You know, we we we got some of
the best. I got some I've been blessed with some
of the best talent. And you know what, we not
(20:54):
only winning championships, you know, I had my my women's
and my man's team had the highest GPA in the
confer friends, highest GPA in the region. And and winning
tennis championships, doing internships, becoming engineers, nursers, just doing great
things man, and uh, I've been blessed. I mean, I
got a great I got a great product to sell
(21:16):
and uh, and it's easy for me to bring in
talented players. And I got a great athletic director and
our new president. We got we got we really got
a lot of good things going on to Skeigee right
now and toward the future for tennis. Just came off
of championship with our women's team. Uh, and I guarantee
we're gonna win it again. And our men's team and
(21:37):
our men's team is right there ready to win it
this year coming up. Also, So I'm in I'm gonna
blessed great state. And and it's just like I said,
it's it's great to know that they're student athletes. They
are graduating man having having internships. There's sophomore years and
and choosing what job they want to take by their
(21:57):
junior year. It's awesome. And winning championship. It's a great thing.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
That's awesome. Now, how do you recruit your talent or
does talent contact you? How does that recruiting process work
for you? Coach Green down at uh Tueskiga University, It.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Goes both ways. Most of it. I gotta hunt, I
gotta get out there. I got to The budget allowed
me to get out there and see talent. Uh. But
a lot of people uh and also do well with
people were sending me in video, send me a video
tape to see you playing, and uh, let's look at it.
And then I invite you to the campus and see
you live, introduce you to my players and see how
(22:34):
that thing WI will work out. And if it works out,
we we we're doing well. So it's both ways.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Wow, you know I I The great thing about this
whole world that you're in is that you're dealing with
a youth. Your your your influencer, that's what I call it.
You your influencer people leaders and things like that. And
when I talked to you, and I got an opportunity.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
To interview you.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
You're you at the You're at the hub right there, sir,
of our future. And if you give to give any
advice to parents who are listening, that not just attending Tuskegee,
but just it's kids in general. What you see and
what you enjoy about working with students.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Uh, I love it. This is this is my retirement job.
I think parents need to know they need to let
the kid make the decision. Let them see different opportunities,
different places they can go, but let them, let them
get a feel of the environment that they're gonna be
in for next four years, and let them make that decision.
Because the worst thing you want to do is you
(23:36):
make the decision for them because when it don't work,
guess who fault is, right, But when it does, but
when it don't, when it does work or what it
don't work, they can always say, hey, I made this decision.
I'm willing to work it out. So that give them,
give that student athlete that ownership and let them make
those decisions and just you know, just just throw the
odds out at them, give them the pluses and the
(23:57):
minus and let them do the math.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
I'll tell you what Coach Green Uh annual student fall
and spring. I got to talk to you, brother, You're
my motivator and I want to thank you for coming
on Money Making Conversation Masterclass, brother, because you've taught me
a lot and I appreciate you coming on my show.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Thank you very much for you guys allowed us to
be here. I right you.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
We talked soon as you know. As we close out
the show, I want to just thank everybody who comes
on my show.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
This has been another episode of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
hosted by me Rashan McDonald. Thank you to all our
guests on the show today and thank you our listening
audience now. If you want to listen to any episodes
or want to be a guest on the show, visit
our website Moneymakingconversation dot com. Our social media handles are
money Making Conversations. Join us next week and remember to
(24:45):
always lead with your gifts. Keep winning. This has been
another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass hosted by me
Rashwan McDonald. Thank you to our guests on the show
today and thank you our listening to the audience now.
If you want to listen to any episode I want
to your guest on the show. Visit Moneymakingconversations dot com.
Our social media handle is Moneymaking Conversation. Join us next
(25:07):
week and remember to always leave with your gifts. Keep winning.
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