Soccer Alumni Start Institute to Help Student-Athletes in Rome

Rockhurst University and Hawks soccer has gone international as five former men’s soccer players created a school in their native Italy, providing educational and athletic training for international college athletes.

Giorgio Antongirolami (’99, ’04), Men’s Soccer associate head coach, started what is now the Rome City Institute with fellow Hawks alumni Stefano Radio (’15 MBA Business Administration & Management, International Business), Gianluca Bottoni (’18 Business Administration & Management, Accounting & Finance, ’20 MBA Business Intelligence), Paolo Scoppola (’14 Business Administration, ‘15 MBA Management), and Lucas De Rossi (’15, International Business).

Antongirolami played at Rockhurst in 1998-99, and his two RU degrees (International Business/Spanish and MBA) were instrumental in starting the Rome City Institute after initially beginning its programs in Florence.

“We played soccer at Rockhurst so there was a bridge between Italy and USA,” Antongirolami said. “We saw an opportunity initially for graduate players to come and get a master’s in soccer coaching and sport management. The student-athlete would have specific classes of soccer coaching at the age of 23, and several sport management classes, plus having a student visa in Italy allows you to play soccer at the pro or semi-pro level.”

The bridge led to many soccer players going to Italy to get the cultural and academic experience of studying abroad, as well as premier soccer training. Eventually, more than just soccer players were making the trip.

“They can play the game without any NCAA ruling or other issues,” he said. “They become better in their sports – basketball, soccer, lacrosse, volleyball – and we have a fitness and conditioning trainer with them every day.”

The Institute drew high-level coaches for all sports and programs such as the Serie-A Select USA Project, which Antongirolami directs. It allows American soccer players to have opportunities to play club soccer in Italy.

Their classes are accredited through Link Campus University, and Rome City Institute now offers gap year programs, undergraduate (International Business and Digital Marketing), and a Master in Coaching and Sport Management. 

Under the leadership of Radio and Antongirolami, Rome City Institute “aims to be one of the most prestigious sports educational institutes in the world. We provide our students with a comprehensive understanding of all aspects that govern the sports industry so that participants acquire the necessary knowledge to become fully qualified professionals, regardless of the specific area of expertise chosen,” according to its website.

“We ended the academic year 21-22 – the best year so far – with 85 students and we had 140 incoming students in fall 2022,” Antongirolami said. "In addition, our student population represents 45 different countries.”