Brian Dooley, a college football player at Eastern Michigan University (EMU), US, gave his scholarship to his teammate after realising he was struggling financially.
Zack Conti, Dooley’s teammate who also plays on the offensive line, was paying his college fees by juggling multiple jobs and donating plasma.
While donating plasma can support trauma patients and those enduring plasma-based therapies, medical researchers have found that donating plasma can also positively affect the donor’s body – reducing the chances of a stroke, heart attacks, high cholesterol, blood clots and other heart diseases.
On average, plasma donors also get paid around 50 to 100 dollars per session.
In August, Head Coach Chris Creighton shared his concerns for Conti in a meeting with the EMU football team.
“Zack Conti has had to pay his way to school for four years. And in the fall, the guy was selling his plasma to be able to pay the bills,” he said, in a bid to persuade the team to hand out one more scholarship.
Brian Dooley handed his scholarship to his teammate.
Unfortunately, the team said it couldn’t give out more scholarships.
While the request for one more scholarship was repeatedly denied, Dooley, two classes short of his advanced degree, told Creighton he had plans to give Conti his scholarship instead.
Creighton explained the situation to the players, Conti’s teammates, noting that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is only permitted to award 85 scholarships each year, and they’ve given them all out.
“We’re at 85 scholarships. We have 85 given out. And no matter how many times or how many years I go to the NCAA and say ‘Yeah, I’m just tell you, we need 86. We need 86. Is there any way we can have more scholarships on this team.’ The answer is no,” the Head Coach said.
“Until Brian Dooley comes into my office,” Creighton added. “And he says, ‘Coach, that guy has earned it. And I’ve talked this over with my family. And if there’s a way to make this happen, I am willing to give up my scholarship as a gift to Zack Conti.’ I’ve never heard, I’ve never seen anything like that ever before.”
Just seconds after Creighton finished his speech, Dooley walked over to Creighton and handed him an envelope that held his scholarship. The team erupted in cheers.
After the moment went viral on social media, Conti said he was “so honoured and so thankful.”
“It feels like all of my hard work is finally being rewarded,” he added.
Zach Conti has continued to play for EMU.
Since he was handed the scholarship, Conti has continued to compete as a senior in football tournaments for EMU.
The offensive player has also gone on to host his own one-on-one football lessons with Vantage Sports, a platform that recruits college students to inspire others to become athletes.
Looking back on the viral moment, Conti said: “Sometimes asking for help is not easy. The team would usually see me coming back from work or going to work and they would know what was going on, and they were supportive. It wasn’t really hard to be open to them about anything…They got my back.”
Today, Dooley said: “The o [offensive]-line brotherhood is something that is hard to break. We have each other’s back. That’s why I wanted to get Conti’s back.”
“If Conti wasn’t here, I’d give it to somebody else too. If somebody is working that hard and they deserve a scholarship, I want to give it to them.”
As for Dooley, he has recently announced that he will be leaving the EMU team and declaring for the 2024 NFL draft, which will be held in April.
“My time at EMU has been something special, and I’ve made great memories. I am thankful for all my teammates that I have gotten to know over the past six years, and I’m happy to call y’all my family,” Dooley wrote in a social media post.
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