Former Green Wave football player Michael Lizanich traded in his title as deep snapper for the title of business owner in 2015 when he opened the Motorsports Garage in New Orleans. 

Lizanich’s company is devoted to providing storage and management for luxury vehicles. The Motorsports Garage was born as a solution to a problem Lizanich faced himself shortly after coming to Tulane to pursue his business management degree. He needed a place to store his car over break but did not feel comfortable leaving it in an easily-accessible parking garage or out on a street that could potentially flood while he was away.  

“I was searching around online and I could not find anything like what I was looking for,” Lizanich said. “There’s car storage facilities in all the major cities across the United States… but there’s not one down here in New Orleans.”

Lizanich said he developed many of the personal qualities and attributes that steered him towards success during his time playing football for the Green Wave. He believes football is one sport that truly teaches its players lessons that can be applied both on and off the field.

“In my opinion, out of all sports that people play, football is one of the only ones that actually gives you real-life lessons to use everyday,” Lizanich said.

To get his business idea off the ground, Lizanich initially attempted to raise the necessary capital through investors. He was later connected to a Tulane A.B. Freeman School of Business graduate with a similar passion for cars and the resources to make Lizanich’s fresh vision a reality. This fellow Tulanian became Lizanich’s business partner, though Lizanich is the primary partner in the company.

“It was an opportunity I could not pass by—simple as that,” Lizanich said.

Owning 20 cars in 21 years, Lizanich has been preparing himself for this opportunity his entire life. He also designed and operated a dorm-cleaning service while living on Tulane’s campus, one of his first entrepreneurial endeavors.

During his time with the Green Wave, Lizanich gained time management and communication skills and learned the importance of treating those around you with respect. His coaches also impressed upon him the importance of learning from your mistakes.

“So you messed up,” Lizanich said. “Now what are you going to do to fix it?”

Lizanich hopes that the capital and experience from The Motorsports Garage will enable him to pursue further projects in the future. He has interests in real estate that he would like to see realized at a later point in his business career.

“I’m hopefully going to be able to translate what I learned here to my future business ideas,” Lizanich said.