BEAR MAKERS: Yannick Boka

The Morgan State Athletics Department will begin a new feature on morganstatebears.com that will highlight former student-athletes and their accomplishments in their professional careers and the impact they have made on their communities in their personal lives.

At Morgan State Athletics, we strive to arm our student-athletes with the skills to excel far beyond athletics. The Bear Makers series will provide Morgan State Athletics with the support and resources needed to position our student-athletes to succeed on a broader playing field of success.

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Yannick Boka was a 3-year letterwinner on the Morgan State football team from 2001-03. The Brooklyn, New York native was a strong physical player who was particularly effective as a run blocker. His wide body and tremendous upper-body strength helped anchor the Bears in the trenches.

Affectionately known as "Big Meal Ticket", aka. "Pun", aka. "The Big Spatula", Boka was selected 2003 First-Team All-MEAC and earned MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Week following a solid performance vs. Savannah State where he collected four pancake blocks, yielded no sacks and helped the offense pound out 282 rushing yards (5.6 avg) and gain 482 yards of total offense. Boka helped pave the way for a Bears offensive that finished the 2003 season ranked in the MEAC No. 2 in rushing offense (230.9 avg) and No. 4 in total offense (338.7 avg).

"Yannick was a rough grader at the offensive line position," said former Bear offensive line teammate Joe Wright. "He was the silent assassin type. He was cool with everybody, fun to be around, but not someone you'd want to cross."

Prior to Morgan State, Boka enjoyed an outstanding JUCO career at Mt. San Antonio C.C. where he was All-Conference and his team won the Mission Conference championship and South Country Bowl during the 2000 season. He was a prep standout at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada where he was a three-time All-State performer and was selected to play in the Shrine Bowl All-Star Game. As a senior he led the state in tackles as a defensive lineman (98 tackles, 9 sacks).

Since graduating from Morgan State with a degree in Telecommunications, Boka worked as a production assistant for a production company that created content for TV ONE. Some of the shows he worked on were "Way Black When", "Fatal Attraction" and "Funny Business" (a pilot for Kid N' Play). He was also an assistant director for Eye Level Pictures, which is a production company that exclusively filmed music videos, before returning to the East Coast. He currently works as a Director of Utilization Management at Unlimited Bounds.

Yannick recently spoke to MorganStateBears.com about his time as a student-athlete at Morgan State and his present life living in Owings Mills, Maryland.

BOKA YANNICK

Q+A with Yannick:

Q: What years did you attend Morgan State and what sport(s) did you play?
Boka: I was a JUCO transfer and attended Morgan State University 2001 to 2003. I played football.

Q: Why did you choose to attend MSU?
Boka: I selected MSU because my brother (Stephan Boka) and I were offered athletic scholarships.
*Stephen played for MSU before transferring to play for Clark-Atlanta University

Q: What was your major at MSU and what year did you graduate?
Boka: My major was Telecommunications (Film/TV).

Q: Have you obtained a higher level of education since graduating from MSU?
Boka: No.

Q: Where do you currently live and work?
Boka: I currently reside in the state of Maryland. I am employed by the Baltimore/Unlimited Bounds Human Services – owned by former MSU Bear Markis Johnson.

Q: Did you always know or predict that your career would be in your current profession?
Boka: No, I thought I would be working in the film industry which I did for awhile. I had no idea I would be working in the Behavioral Health industry, but it has been very rewarding.

Q: How did your time as a student and student-athlete at MSU prepare you for your career and life after college?
Boka: The biggest thing I took away from my time at MSU and applying to my post college life has been time management. At Morgan, I had to learn how to balance school, football and the social experience of being in college. It was tough and I often put more time into social life than I should have. It was the lessons learned from that, that helped me in my professional life.

Q: What personal or professional accomplishment(s) are you most proud of since you graduated from MSU?
Boka: Personally it would be my kids. I have two boys, and whether they know it or not they, they push me to be great because I want them to be great.

Professionally, I have a lot of great experiences from my time in Hollywood, but I'm most proud of starting my own business.

Q: What is your best advice for current MSU student-athletes?
Boka: To current MSU student-athletes, my advice would be to take your time and live in the moment, because you're in the process of creating memories that will last a lifetime.

Q: What is your favorite memory from your time as a Bear?
Boka: Wow, so many to choose from. It would be hard to top upsetting Howard at their Homecoming in 2002. We ran the ball very well, which is great for an offensive lineman and if I recall correctly, our running back T.J. Stallings had 5 TDs!

family

Q: Have the relationships you built among your team lasted beyond college?
Boka: Absolutely, especially since I have moved back to the area. But even when I lived on the West Coast, anytime one of my Bear Brothers were in town we would be sure to catch up. These relationships will last a lifetime.

bikahillfield

Q: When was the last time you had been to campus? How has the campus changed?
Boka: The last time I visited the campus was Homecoming 2019, which was the first time I'd been on campus in 10 years. I was in awe and very proud to see how much the campus had grown and how great it looked.

Q: What are some things you enjoy doing in your free time?
Boka: I don't get much free time these days, but when I do I enjoy finding new places to go on hikes, traveling, and spending time with my loved ones.

boka2 — Benley (L) and Little Yannick (R)

yannickcrew2 — Yannick's girlfriend Autumn (MSU grad) and her son Derek.

Q: Are you still involved in athletics in some capacity?
Boka: If you consider fantasy football or placing bets at the sports book involved, then yes. If my kids get into sports, I'm sure I'll take on an active role.

Q: What motivates you to give back (volunteer, mentor, donate) to MSU Athletics?
Boka: MSU is my family and I always want family to succeed and progress and whatever I can do to help facilitate that would be my pleasure.

msucrew

BEAR MAKERS
Lamar West
Mariama Gondo
Tiffany Rubin
Joe Wright
Denikwa Shelby-James
Tawanna Davidson

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Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 126 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, 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.