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EMU player gifts teammate final year of scholarship
Brian Dooley saw an opportunity and took it. The offensive lineman for the Eagles is almost done with his time Eastern Michigan University, which is why he thought the remaining year on his scholarship would be better served in the hands of another teammate, Zack Conti, a walk-on on the team.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (FOX 2) - "Where's Conti at?"
It was a frequent question among the players on the Eastern Michigan University football team. The most likely answer? "He's always working."
Zack Conti, a walk-on for the Eagles football team, was not able to obtain a scholarship when he joined the roster - and instead was forced to pay his way through school. When that wasn't enough, he also sold plasma for some extra cash.
Conti's name is in the national spotlight because of a decision by one of his teammates, Brian Dooley, who gifted him the remaining years of his scholarship to give him a break as he works his way through school.
"He’s got another year and a half," Dooley said. "That scholarship is going to help him more than it will help me."
Dooley is near the end of his time in college and is close to finishing his degree. Ever the strategist on the field, the opportunity for Dooley to help his teammate out was easy - as was being humble about the decision.
"It wasn’t about me - it was all about Conti just because he put in the work for it and I respected it," said Dooley.
Conti got the news during a team meeting when their head coach was speaking. "I’ve never heard, I've never seen anything like that ever before," Chris Creighton said, who made sure to pay homage to his charitable player as well. "Where are you Dooley?"
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Applause and cheers were caught on camera during the announcement.
"Just a little overwhelmed and honestly, I was too," Dooley said. "I'm in the same boat as him. It’s a lot because to me, it’s all him. I did this for him - I didn’t do this for me. I didn’t think it would blow up like this and all of his hard work that he put in - that's what this is all about."