When Mike Mathile stepped into Notre Dame’s Cincinnati classroom to begin the Executive MBA program, he knew how fortunate he was. “From day one, I was excited to be part of a top-tier business school,” says Mathile. “Having a top-notch faculty enlightening me a short distance from home, being part of an executive-level learning team, and looking at business concepts from different angles—these were all aspects of the program that were important to me.”

Mathile, a native of Dayton, Ohio, never had any intention of making a career in business. Instead, he had his sights set on something quite different, though no less competitive: the sports world. Even at the age of six, Mathile knew he wanted to play professional baseball. His boyhood dreams were fulfilled in 1990, when he was drafted by the Montreal Expos. After playing professional ball for six years, however, he was forced to retire with an elbow injury.

“When my baseball career was over, I didn't have a back-up plan. For the next couple of years, I coached high school sports and was involved in the family business and philanthropic work,” he says. The family business he is referring to is the wealth building and sustaining effort that accompanied the success his father and mother, Clay and Mary Mathile, had achieved in building The Iams Company into a world-leading producer of pet food and supplies before selling it to Procter & Gamble for $2.3 billion in 1999. With a sizeable asset base, Mathile soon found he needed more education.

After completing his undergraduate degree in marketing from Wright State University, Mathile enrolled in the Notre Dame MBA program in the spring of 2002. “The business foundation that the Notre Dame program creates is invaluable, and the classes I found most engaging were the ones that allowed us to apply our business experience to the task at hand. It was almost as though I had blinders on previously; the program widened the lens of my perspective, helping me to move beyond a focus on marketing and branding to develop a global view.”

Along with his studies, Mathile credits the alumni, faculty, and fellow students for their influence in his life. As Mathile puts it, “A mentor is someone who makes an impact on your life, whether it’s for a couple of hours or a couple of years.” His mentors range from Lou Nanni, Vice President for University Relations and former director of the Center for the Homeless in South Bend, Indiana, to two fellow students who were project team members. “Years later, it’s a comfort to know that, when I need them, I can still pick up the phone and call those people who have had such an impact on my life,” he says.

Today Mike Mathile, CEO of DoubleDay Holdings, LLC and 2006 recipient of Notre Dame’s Distinguished Alumni Award, continues to work in the family business, while also serving on the Business Advisory Council at Notre Dame as a resource for Dean Carolyn Woo. Looks like plan B is paying off after all.