Jim Tanner

Behind many of the big names in sports is Jim Tanner.

Athletes Grant Hill, Tim Duncan, Shane Battier, Dominique Dawes, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Josh Childress have all hired this 1990 Morehead Alum as their agent.

It takes tenacious negotiating skills to succeed in such a high-pressure job. Tanner got his first taste of that as a Morehead, during a summer internship as a paper products intern with Proctor & Gamble in Washington, D.C.

"I can't say that I was very good at the job, but it forced me to work on my negotiating skills," Tanner says. "It's a pretty difficult job trying to persuade those grocery store managers to increase your shelf space or to run a special promotion."

He must have done better than he thinks. Sports Illustrated selected him one of the 101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports. During the 1996 presidential campaign, the Clinton/Gore campaign hired him as a senior advisor, in which he focused on the Midwest.

The Proctor & Gamble internship also cultivated in Tanner a love for the nation's capital. After graduating from law school in Chicago, he couldn't wait to move back there. He got hired by a major firm — thanks to help from Morehead Alum Chuck Patrizia ’72, who happened to be the firm's hiring partner.

Today, Tanner is a partner at Williams & Connolly, representing athletes, coaches, and corporate executives as they negotiate their contracts. His practice also includes corporate and securities laws.

Tanner stays plenty busy beyond negotiating multi-million dollar contracts. Since falling in love with the UNC campus when he interviewed for The Morehead, Tanner remains a frequent visitor. He serves on the UNC Board of Visitors and the Morehead Leadership Committee of the Carolina First Campaign, UNC's current major fundraiser.

"There's probably no aspect of my life that has not been impacted in some way by The Morehead," Tanner said. "What I'm finding out now is that I'm getting a lot of satisfaction by staying involved with the Foundation, and getting to know other Morehead Alums."