Success Stories

Moulaye Niang

MBA, not NBA, Was the Goal

During his four years with the Kansas Jayhawks, former hoopster Moulaye Niang's teams won more than 100 games and played in a National Championship game. Niang found a way to distinguish himself off the court, too. He is one of the masters in business graduates from the KU Edwards Campus.

It's another huge step in what has been a remarkable journey for Niang, who left his native Senegal for a small San Diego high school in 2000. He excelled there academically and athletically, enough for Coach Roy Williams to offer him a scholarship. The Jayhawks went all the way to the 2003 national championship game in Niang's freshman year. Then Williams bolted for North Carolina.

"He chased his dream," Niang says. "I would've done the same thing."

In came Coach Bill Self. "Their methods were different, but their backbone and philosophy are the same: They make you work incredibly hard, play as a team, and they're both great motivators."

Not that Niang lacks any personal motivation. He earned his undergrad degree in business finance in just over four years and landed a position as internal auditor with Associated Wholesale Grocers in Kansas City. Even though he was quickly promoted to accounting supervisor, he knew an MBA would give him an added advantage.

"I want to move upstairs, where the VPs are," he says.

Earning an MBA was a goal all along, he says, but he needed to work after graduation, not stay in Lawrence. "I couldn't afford not to work, but I'd heard great things about KU's MBA program. It's one of the best in the country and very competitive," Niang says. "The Edwards Campus was awesome. It's so close to home, it was easy for me to get the classes I wanted, and the flexibility allows you to complete the program on your schedule."