Scarlet Knights kicker tackles business analytics, NFL aspirations

Finding time for group projects was one of the biggest challenges for Jai Patel, a member of Rutgers Business School’s Class of 2026 and starting kicker for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

The Business Analytics and Information Technology (BAIT) major spent eight hours a day training during the football season and six in the offseason.

“Once 3 o’clock hits, I’m a full-time business student,” Patel said. Games claimed Fridays through Sundays of his fall semesters. Though free blocks of time were few and far between, the 22-year-old learned to excel at time management.

For one group project in Business Policy and Strategy, “there were times we had to meet late, and I needed to get to bed, but we had to practice for a presentation the next day,” he said. He and his classmates analyzed the clothing company Gap’s strengths and weaknesses and developed recommendations for growth.

They aced the assignment. “All in all, all those projects ended up going really well,” Patel said.

Watch the video: Jai Patel explains his technique and his goals.

On campus, Patel was often recognized first as a Division I football player but serving as a Rutgers Business School ambassador allowed him to display his student persona. He participated in panel discussions, led tours of the business school and answered questions from prospective students about coursework, professors and campus life.

“In these panels, I don’t really mention football at all because they’re not here for the athletics side,” he said. 

BAIT: “A Very Niche Major”

Patel’s coursework involved data analysis, Python, SQL and other programming languages, and solving real-world business challenges — all skills he plans to use for a career in the growing field of sports analytics — after, he hopes, a successful stint in the NFL.

As the flagship business school of New Jersey, Rutgers Business School is always working to create innovative programs and curriculum, including majors like Business Analytics and Information Technology, to provide students with a strong return on investment.

Patel described BAIT as “a very niche major” that reflects the growing use of analytics across industries. “Everyone’s using data now and analytics in any facet of business,” he said. Scarlet Knights football uses sports analysts to track player health, workload and recovery.

He confessed there were days he felt like skipping class, usually after a practice that didn’t go well. “But I have to remember that I have a future I want to build.”

Patel arrived at Rutgers as a walk-on, paying tuition with the help of academic scholarships. Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano promised that if Patel became the team’s starting kicker, he would earn a full football scholarship. He landed the job sophomore year. “It was one of the most special days when that happened,” Patel said.

To stay on track academically, Patel took a three-credit course every summer so he would only need to complete 12 credits a semester, taking classes Monday through Thursday.

He made communicating clearly with professors a priority. On the first day of class, Patel said he introduced himself and explained the constraints on his time outside the classroom because he wanted professors to know him “as a person as well.”

Building Connections

With football’s demands, internships weren’t an option for Patel, who also missed many networking and other career preparation events. Instead, Patel built connections through team-organized events and community service, meeting business leaders and alumni who once balanced similar demands.

Patel said the number of Rutgers football players enrolled at Rutgers Business School has doubled during his time on the team, growing from about six players when he arrived to about 12 on the team’s current 128-player roster. He serves unofficially as an ambassador to prospective football players interested in business majors.

Patel set his sights on Rutgers University years before attending. Both his sisters graduated from Rutgers Business School and landed solid jobs at Cisco Corporation. “I saw the success they had post-college and that really intrigued me,” he said.

The South Brunswick native grew up playing sports — and following the Scarlet Knights. He naturally became the team’s hometown player, knowing the best places to eat and fun places to go near campus. With teammates from as far away as Australia and Ireland, he often invited them to his parents’ home for a home-cooked meal or just to relax off-campus for a bit.

Patel will play a fifth year with the Scarlet Knights while pursuing Rutgers Business School’s online Master of Science in Supply Chain Management. When the 2026-27 season ends, he plans to train for four months in Texas to prepare for the NFL draft while completing the degree, he said. The Rutgers Master of Science in Supply Chain Management Program was ranked No. 2 among hundreds of graduate programs evaluated by U.S. News & World Report in 2025.

With graduation days away, Patel said he is trying to wrap his head around what he has accomplished.

“(I’m) going to graduate from one of the top business programs while also getting to start every game,” he said. “It’s really an honor to be able to do both.”

-Margaret McHugh