When the University of Kentucky kicked off its 2021 football season against Louisiana-Monroe, the team was led by starting quarterback Will Levis, a student in the Master of Science in Finance Program (MSF) at the Gatton College of Business and Economics.

The MSF program is a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) certified program focusing on analytics and data science related skills. The program gives students first-hand asset management experience by managing $5 million of real money and access to real-time financial information in its state-of-the-art Seale Finance Learning Center.

“One of the things that made the University of Kentucky stand out was the opportunity to add a top shelf master’s degree in finance education to my football experience,” said Levis. “I look forward to learning from a great faculty and utilizing the outstanding educational facilities at the Gatton College.”

UK’s MSF program prepares students for a professional career in the finance and banking industries, including careers in investment banking, asset management, mutual funds, and corporate treasury departments. The program is available to all majors and professional backgrounds and offers small class sizes and individual attention.

“Student athletes bring tremendous discipline and work ethic to the MS Finance program,” said Mark H. Liu, associate professor of finance and MSF program director. “We have had successful students from football, track and tennis in recent years, and they have all gone on to successful careers in finance.”

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops recently announced that Levis had earned the job as UK's starting quarterback. Levis transferred to UK after graduating from Penn State's Smeal College of Business with a degree in finance.

Gatton College will also be represented on the field by three UK Football players who are students in One Year MBA program: Luke Fortner (offensive guard), Quintin Wilson (center) and Matthew Ruffolo (kicker). Fortner was recently named to the 2021 Preseason Coaches All-Southeastern Conference teams.

The Wildcats open the regular season on Sept. 4 against Louisiana-Monroe inside Kroger Field. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. EST. The Gatton College welcomes its alumni to join Dean Simon Sheather, along with Gatton faculty and staff, at its football season tailgates, which start 2.5 hours before kickoff at Kroger Field. For more information, visit https://gatton.uky.edu/tailgates.