BALTIMORE, Md. (July 30, 2025) - Morgan State Athletics turned up the energy this week during our annual Summer Bridge series which was designed to assist with freshmen transition. Due to the uniqueness of Tuesday's series', any student-athletes that were on campus were invited to participate! Over 30 Bear student-athletes and staff packed the room for an inspiring and impactful session on financial game-planning for life.
We were honored to welcome Joel Gamble, former NFL pro, JP Morgan Chase Vice President, and all-around community powerhouse, who dropped gems on money management, financial discipline, and building wealth from the ground up. His message was clear: take control of your finances early and own your future.
"Being from Baltimore, the inner city, and not having the financial education and then being a student-athlete in college, I understand some of the pitfalls financially that student-athletes can go through," said Gamble. "It makes me extremely passionate about coming in and having conversations with students as it relates to money, credit, and being able to invest in all of the things that will help them to be successful, later on down the line."
Following him was Brandon Phillip-Cheeks, Community Private Client Advisor/Wealth Management, who brought investing to life for our student-athletes. From stocks to building generational wealth, he made the money talk real, relatable, and empowering.
"I greatly appreciate Morgan for going above and beyond and the effort they showed with their student-athletes," said Dallas James, men's basketball student-athlete. "Of all the information seminars I have been to, this one has been the most informative and concise. I think that the two speakers who were brought in were extremely relatable. I learned more in this session than maybe some of the others. I appreciate Morgan and the Graves School of Business for their help."
It was an energetic afternoon filled with note-taking, big questions, and even bigger takeaways. Our Bears are stepping into their college journey equipped with more than just athletic training — they're building knowledge that will last a lifetime.
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is in its 55th year of intercollegiate competition with the 2025-26 academic school year. Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is made up of eight outstanding historically black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State University. For more information about the MEAC, visit www.MEACSports.com.
