NFC Champ Tackles MPA

PROVO, Utah — Oct 04, 2006 — When Ifo Pili graduates next spring, his résumé will not only list the Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, and New England Patriots, it will also include an MPA degree. For Pili, member of the 2005 Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl team, playing defensive tackle in the NFL was just one of his life’s goals. Now, after being released from the NFL for injuries, Pili is back at his alma mater.

Pili, who says BYU’s MPA program is “a perfect fit,” was recently hired on permanently with the city of Eagle Mountain, Utah, after completing a summer-long internship there.

Working in public administration is similar to playing football, he explains, because you’re part of a team. In addition to working as a city management analyst, Pili spent one day each week with a different city department. “One day I was shoveling sewage and the next I was jackhammering in the city park,” he says. This hands-on work was meaningful to Pili, who believes local administrators need to get outside their offices and know what’s going on in the city. In this way, he feels, they can make a tangible difference and know how their decisions on paper affect residents.

Pili, who lives in Eagle Mountain with his wife and three young daughters, loves helping communities prosper. His desire for a career in public service was instilled at a young age. When Pili was 10 years old, his dad ran for governor of American Samoa. Pili knew his dad’s chances of winning were small because he was much younger than the other Samoan candidates. “Why are you running?” Pili asked. “For you,” his dad told him. “To let you know that it is not ok to stand on the side and watch. It’s like sitting on the sidelines in a football game. People complain a lot about government, but there are no excuses to complain unless you get in the game and quit sitting on the sideline.”

That comment has driven Pili a long way, carrying over into his education, career, athletics, and involvement in the church. He later moved to Utah to play football for BYU before being signed into the NFL in 2004. Pili feels that football has opened doors for his career in public service, but he says playing for the NFL is like a résumé: “It might get you in the door, but unless you have the education and experience to back yourself up, it won’t take you any further.”

Whether the Pili family will put down roots in Eagle Mountain is still undecided. With NFL teams calling regularly, including a recent offer from the New York Jets, going back to professional football is still an option. Returning to Samoa someday is also an option, although Pili is quick to mention that he is “not justified” in going back without the education and training to be a public servant. For now, Pili says he wants to focus on his education, family, and calling as a bishopric member. “Really it all comes down to what the Lord wants,” he says. But one thing is for sure: Ifo Pili won’t be a sideliner.

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems, organizational behavior and entrepreneurship. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs