Editor’s note: Preparations for this year’s 20 Under 40 section in May prompted this look back at a 2024 honoree whose trajectory continues to reflect the spirit of the recognition.
Jack Betts has always been intentional about where he’s headed and why. A graduate of The Episcopal School of Dallas, Betts left the familiarity of his Park Cities neighborhood to play Division III football at Amherst College.
After stepping out into an unfamiliar world, the former wide receiver returned home with renewed perspective. “Growing up, we didn’t venture much beyond our commute to ESD,” said Betts. “Going to Amherst, where I knew nobody, really opened my world. Coming back allowed me to take everything I learned and pour it back into the community that raised me.”
After graduation, Betts earned a master’s degree in sports management from SMU while securing a coveted NIL internship with Learfield, a major force in collegiate sports media. The experience gave him hands-on exposure to an evolving industry defining much of the modern student-athlete experience.
“I learned from some of the best in the industry,” he said about his mentors at Learfield, while also crediting his parents for being the ones to prepare him to chart his own path. “I’ll be the first one to say I’m most definitely a mama’s boy. She is an absolute rockstar who molded me into what I am today.”
That blend of ambition and rootedness has defined the athlete’s professional rise. Initially joining SMU’s football staff as special assistant to general manager JR Sandlin, Betts supported roster building, recruiting operations, and long-term strategy.
Recently stepping into a new role under SMU executive deputy athletic director Brian Ullman, Betts is approaching the transition with the same adaptability that has guided his career so far. “Whatever is asked of me, I look forward to contributing,” he said.
As an early NIL pioneer and proud Cherokee Native American, Betts’ professional goals exist at the intersection of personal identity and legacy. “I’m always trying to find ways in which to bring aspects of my life together,” he said.
“Being an athlete and being of Cherokee descent are two of my most critical identifying factors. Being that I’m adopted, I didn’t know a lot about my heritage growing up, which was one of the reasons I went to a school like Amherst, so I could continue to discover more about myself,” he said.
Launching the Make Your Own Legacy Academy (MYOLA), an NIL education and empowerment program, Betts focused on serving athletes often overlooked in the rapidly commercialized era of college sports, particularly those at Division III schools. Through MYOLA, he emphasized education, confidence, and self-advocacy.
The Academy also served as a catalyst in reinforcing the significance of community and legacy in him. “It’s something I always keep in the back of my mind — the importance of using my heritage to uplift the voices of underrepresented student athletes,” he said. “Having been on the athlete side, I try to be a voice that understands both the excitement and the pressure.”
For the former collegiate athlete, pressure is something he knows far beyond the competitive arena. He has spoken openly about losing his brother to suicide — the devastating loss reshaping how he views mental health in sports and leadership. For Betts, it is the defining part of his life’s story that pushes him to be intentional about advocating for mental health resources for athletes, reminding them that vulnerability doesn’t make you weaker.
“My generation is on the forefront of making it OK to not be OK. It’s being woven more into the cerebral upbringing of athletes,” he said. “Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. You can’t go out there and make a play if your head is cloudy.”
That openness has become a pillar in his approach to personal and professional pursuits — one that resonates with athletes navigating expectations both on and off the field.
For Betts, his goal remains straightforward and deeply personal: “Help athletes create legacies they’re proud of — not the ones someone else writes for them.”
Author
