Playing in an era marked with cocky and spoiled athletes, Bill Meholif stands alone as an old-school athlete who just plays for the love of the game.
Meholif is a defensive tackle for the University at Buffalo's football team. The three words he used to describe himself, as listed on his player profile, are intelligence, integrity and intensity.
While many young athletes look up to professional athletes and young adolescents look up to celebrities, Meholif said he admires the men who sacrifice for their family.
"I admire the man who wakes up at 2:30 in the morning to go to work, so he can provide for his children," Meholif said.
Meholif played his high school football at the legendary St. Ignatius high school in Cleveland, Ohio. A program famous for its success, St. Ignatius won a state title in 1999 with Meholif on their roster. Meholif was selected first-team All-Area, first-team All-County and third-team All-Ohio. He was also named the MVP of the Northeast Ohio all-star game.
The red shirt junior began playing football in fifth grade because according to him, "it was the thing to do; football is huge in Ohio."
After red shirting his first year at UB, Meholif started all 12 games of the 2002 season. He recorded 28 tackles that year and looked poised to make more of an impact in his sophomore season. However, a knee injury forced him to sit on the sidelines all of the 2003 campaign.
Meholif had two surgeries to repair his torn ACL and meniscus on his right knee. After the surgeries, he had to do extensive therapy to get his knee back to full strength.
"I did therapy with Ed Fitzsimons on South Campus at Sports Medicine," Meholif said. "He is one of the major reasons I am back playing at a competitive level."
Since becoming a Bull in 2001, Meholif reports that the team has changed a lot.
"We are a bigger, faster and stronger team," Meholif said. "We also have a strong unity as a team."
Some players look forward to facing certain opponents, but Meholif said that he looks forward to every game because he loves the "thrill and adrenaline pump you get every week you step out onto that field."
Meholif said he hopes that he plays every game to the best of his ability and that his team can play great football this season.
"Our team goals are to play great football and have fun," said Meholif. "When you're having fun, you're playing great."
The most important lesson football has taught Meholif is to have discipline. Having the discipline to manage your time is extremely important for a student-athlete and Meholif has proven that he can be a successful student as well as a hard working athlete.
Meholif is a UB Scholar-Athlete and has been named to the dean's list. He has been able to maintain a 3.5 cumulative GPA over the four years that he has been a student at UB.
When he's not playing football or studying, Meholif enjoys surfing, fishing and playing golf. Meholif said he likes watching 80's action movies and taking long walks on the beaches of Lake Erie.
The finance major hopes to work for the U.S. Marshal Service after he graduates. Meholif got an internship over the summer with the U.S. Marshals and fell in love with the job.
"I've always wanted to work for the Department of Justice, so over the summer I got an internship with them," Meholif explained. "It was one of the greatest things I've ever done. It was something that I wanted to get into and after I did the internship it just confirmed my career path."
Though he knows where he wants to work after he graduates, Meholif is not so sure about where he wants to live. His first thought is that Cleveland is where he belongs because that's where his family is, but the beaches of California might just lure him to the West Coast.
Even though Meholif is a dedicated Division I athlete, he knows that there's more to life than football.
"My ultimate goal in life is to be able to provide for my family so that my kids can live very comfortably," Meholif said.
