Former Tulane football player turns entrepreneur

Juggling athletics and academics proves to be a packed schedule for many collegiate student-athletes. For former Tulane deep snapper Michael Lizanich, however, there's another world of responsibilities. Lizanich is the proud owner and operator of his own business, the Motorsports Garage.

The Tulane senior has owned 20 cars in his 21 years. It’s safe to say that Lizanich feels comfortable in the driver's seat. From a young age, he's demonstrated an incredible savvy in the business world as a manager and entrepreneur.

Lizanich continued his business ventures well into his Tulane career.  He first opened a dorm room cleaning service catered to fellow students looking to tidy up their living space. From there, he began turning over new business ideas, eventually settling on his newest project, the Motorsports Garage, after seeing the need for such an establishment in the area.

“Football is one of the sports that helps you in the long run of life. You always want to be on time, well-presented and well-dressed. Football helps you be disciplined and manage your time wisely so you can go out and perform.”

Michael Lizanich

“I came to New Orleans, and I remember one summer I was trying to look for a place to store my car because I didn't want to keep it parked outside or in a parking garage for three months.  I couldn't find a car storage place, so I thought to myself, why not just make my own,” Lizanich said.

Shortly after the wheels began turning in his head for his new business idea, Lizanich began operating the Motorsports Garage, a luxury, collector and exotic car storage and management facility located in Elmwood. The humidity-controlled warehouse provides a safe and secure location for the upkeep of clients' vehicles.

“The thing that sets us apart is the management aspect to it.  Every car that comes in gets set up to a charger so the battery doesn't die. We also move the car every other week so flat spots don't develop on the tires. We tell clients to just drive your cars, we'll handle everything else," Lizanich said.

In addition to day-to-day maintenance, Lizanich also handles shipping and delivery of cars to and from residences and dealerships for servicing, as well as helping clients sell their automobiles at auction.

Though injury has forced him to hang up his jersey and spikes, Lizanich is still learning to apply the discipline and time-management skills he learned through years of playing football outside of the stadium.

“Football is one of the sports that helps you in the long run of life.  You always want to be on time, well-presented and well-dressed. Football helps you be disciplined and manage your time wisely so you can go out and perform.”

At Tulane, Lizanich feels he's learned all of these lessons and more – lessons that have prepared him for his future off the field.

“The Tulane Athletics community has been extremely proactive in trying to implement all of these characteristics in each and every one of their players.  Tulane student-athletes have a lot of maturity and a lot of drive, and everything we're taught transitions to the real world,” Lizanich, who will graduate in December.