Q&A with Diego Gutierrez

Diego Gutierrez, Assistant Professor of Management and Marketing, credits his time as a student at Rockhurst for much of the success he's had in his life and career. With his son about to begin his freshman year as a Hawk, we caught up with Diego to reflect on his time at Rockhurst as the next RU journey is his family is about to being.

When and how did you arrive to Rockhurst as a student-athlete?

I arrived at Rockhurst in late summer of 1993. Frankly, as an immigrant, I had gone about my college choice without any guidance or really understanding what the process was about.  While I had dozens of offers to play at the Division I college level, and I opted to attend one of the top five soccer universities in Division I at the time (the University of Evansville), it wasn’t the best fit for me.  So, despite having great success on the field as a freshman, I was not focused and hurting academically.  After a conversation with my parents, a conversation with Coach Tocco (who had recruited me out of high school), I felt it was best to move close to my parents and attend a university where I had a better chance of being successful.  My transition into Rockhurst was smooth, and right from the outset I felt I had arrived where I needed to be.

What are your memories of playing for the Hawks?

I only played at Rockhurst for two years, but my memories are very fond.  The team was full of good guys, committed student-athletes, who provided a good example for me on how to be a balanced student-athlete. Playing for Rockhurst helped me in understanding the balance that was required and the commitment that others had towards academics, as I was seeing it around me daily.  On the field, we had good teams.  The years I played we lost in quarterfinals and semifinals of the National Tournament, so we fell short of the goal, but they were great experiences, nonetheless. 

What was it like to play for Coach Tocco, who’s now been head coach for 50 years?

I sincerely struggle to find words to really depict what Coach Tocco has meant to so many people, and to me in particular.  Across the country, the regional level, across the state, in Kansas City, you won’t ever have a shortage of people who will tell you how Coach Tocco had a profound impact in their lives.  Whether in the classroom or out on the practice field, Coach Tocco has been an inspirational figure, a father figure, a friend, a guide, and somebody who is always ready to provide mentorship.  For me, he was and has been an ever-present mentor who has provided pivotal insight and advice at crucial moments of my life.  On the field, Coach Tocco was demanding but fair.  He’s an insightful soccer coach who never allowed players to cut corners.  The lessons that players learn while playing for coach are lessons that are useful throughout life and not easily forgotten.

Tell me about your career in professional soccer. What did your career teach you that you still carry with you today?

I played professionally for 13 seasons, though I grew up in a professional environment in my native Colombia through the time I was 18.  My soccer formation was at Independiente Santa Fe’s academy, in Bogota, Colombia.  I came to the U.S. and after playing three years at the college level and having some international experiences as well, I was drafted by the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting KC), in 1996.  I retired after the 2008 season, having played over 400 professional games for both the Wizards and the Chicago Fire, while also having the honor of playing and representing the United States National Team.  

One of the things I learned early in my professional career is that it takes so much more than talent to be successful.  Part of success obviously involves the level of dedication and commitment that you dedicate to the craft.  But things like collaboration, sacrifice, discipline and doing all the boring things fans don’t get to see (like staying focused, having a good diet, not staying up late, etc.), are a fundamental part of athletic success.  Sure, people see the glamor and the fame and the financial reward of athletes, but those things are only a glimpse of the entire professional athletic experience and environment.  Truth is, it is mostly sacrificial; many times it’s a lonely road that many, while talented, are not able to endure for long.  I’ve also learned that all of those qualities, those tools and skills I previously mentioned are not only a recipe to be successful in athletics, but also for business and life in general.  They are the good habits that we try to teach our children to carry out daily, so that as they grow up, they have a better chance of being successful, regardless of what career path they choose.  I was blessed to dedicate myself to a sport that taught me so many things.

What motivated you to get graduate degrees in business after your playing days ended?

While I was at Rockhurst as an undergraduate student I became interested in Psychology.  I left school my junior year to turn pro, only to come back in the middle of my soccer career to finish my Psychology degree in 2005.  While I was a professional player, I was exposed to a lot of business dealings in the professional sports world.  I was never interested in coaching, but I was always interested in the business side of things, such as contract structures, sponsorships, endorsements, stadiums, etc.  I also took it upon myself to be involved in other businesses while I was playing, learning other industries in the afternoons, after I trained with the team in the morning.  Later after retiring, I was able to work with MLS and other individual teams in the contractual part of the business, so I became more and more intrigued by business in general.  I then worked as a national TV sports business analyst, and while doing that, pursued other opportunities, both domestically and abroad, with corporate institutions.  In many ways I suppose I trained myself to be successful in those executive roles, but deep down I knew I could benefit from formally learning some of the things I felt I lacked as an executive. I decided to go through the EMBA program at our Helzberg School of Management, which was both extremely enriching, yet a very humbling experience, as it taught me how much I had still to learn.  Sometime after that, once I had spent significant time in business, I had the hunger of going for more.  I decided in 2014 that I would take on a personal challenge and pursue a Doctorate in Business Administration from Creighton University.  It was one of the more difficult things I ever did, but I’m extremely proud to have done it.

I can honestly say that my professional development has been quite atypical; I was a nontraditional student (actively pursuing a degree while playing a professional sport), then trying to pursue an EMBA while juggling a million other things, and later pursuing a doctoral degree well into my 40’s.  I reckon that although I discovered it late, my passion and motivation for learning has always been there.

When did you decide you wanted to teach? What led you to come back to Rockhurst? What do you enjoy about teaching today’s students?

In hindsight, I believe that I’ve always been a teacher in some way.  While I was playing and captaining teams, that leadership was a way of teaching.  When I did speaking engagements during and after my career, that message I shared hopefully taught something to someone else.  Since I became a father, parenthood is all about teaching.  So, in many ways I guess I’ve been teaching in some sort of way for a long time.  But perhaps what I recall most was after coming back to Rockhurst and finishing the EMBA, our former Dean (Cheryl McConnell) challenged me to teach a course.  She said to me “Diego, you speak to millions of people on television, you do public speaking, you’re eloquent, and you know business; why not teach?”  I thought about it and agreed to teach one graduate class at the Helzberg School of Management.  Once I did, I fell in love with it.  All of the sudden it all came together for me:  I understood the Jesuit mission and the mission of teaching, the influence of a good professor, and the impact that can be made for generations to come by helping forge the next generation of adults and business professionals.  It was right then and there that I decided to pursue my Doctorate, as I knew it was likely what I wanted to do for the rest of my career.