David L. Archer President | Christian Brothers University website

CBU graduate student Mariah Curley is balancing academics and athletics as she pursues a master's degree in business administration while playing for the university's women's basketball team. Originally from Oklahoma City, Curley began playing basketball at age nine and continued through high school and junior college in Kansas before being recruited to Memphis, where she completed her bachelor's degree in journalism and communications.

Curley was offered a scholarship by Christian Brothers University (CBU) after the coaching staff recognized her skills and noted that she had an extra year of basketball eligibility. She decided to pursue an MBA, citing her longstanding interest in business. "I was a business major before I decided to switch over to journalism and communications, and I’ve always been interested in business," Curley said. "I saw coming to CBU as a great opportunity. An MBA is very versatile, and it will greatly expand my options when I enter the workforce."

Women's Basketball Coach Samantha Davidson praised Curley's impact on the team since joining as a guard. "Mariah has come into the basketball program and quickly made an impact," Davidson said. "She has proven herself to be smart, proactive, and wanting to help those around her. She has earned a captain position and uses every day to push those around her. Some of her best traits are her leadership and communication. She wants to see others do well and continually communicates with her teammates to do that."

Curley observed that increased attention toward women’s basketball has brought more respect for female athletes at all levels. "I’ve noticed more of the respect," she said. "It used to be people not showing up to our games and waiting for the boys team to play immediately after our game. Now it’s a big respect factor. People in the community are coming. They want their little girls or their students to get to where we are. It’s kinda cool to talk to the next generation and inspire them to do what I’m doing."

As a first-generation college graduate, Curley credits her family’s support for motivating her achievements both on court and academically: "I want to be someone that they can look at and see that things are possible," she said. "It inspires me that they know that I’m working every day to be where I want to be in life."

Curley also emphasized the significance of women athletes' presence: "Women athletes are powerful," she said. "We’re able to show up as both confident women and competitive athletes. We don’t have to choose."