Haiden Nagel

Originally from New Orleans, Haiden Nagel plays defensive end for Florida Atlantic University’s football team and is a recent graduate of the College of Business's undergraduate finance program.

Haiden began playing football at age 8 and, almost immediately, felt the sport changed his life for the better. "It was something that I fell in love with," says Haiden, and it became clear to him that football would play a big role in his future.

After attending Sickles High School in Tampa, Haiden enrolled at FAU and tried out for the football team as a walk-on player. Unlike athletes recruited to a university, walk-on players are not guaranteed an athletic scholarship. Haiden worked hard to display his commitment and talent to his coaches and was eventually awarded a full football scholarship. Now in his final season, Haiden has become one of the senior leaders on the team.

In addition to his impressive football career, Haiden was initially focused on becoming a software developer while at FAU. After recognizing a stronger passion for finance, Haiden switched gears and pursued a degree in finance. Haiden graduated last summer with his Bachelor’s in Finance and is now pursuing a graduate degree in FAU’s MBA in Sport Management program. His aim is to study financial sports analytics, which would allow him to combine his passions for both sports and finance.

Haiden's long-term goal - to become a top-level executive for a professional sports team.