Brock Olivo

James Brockman Olivo (born June 24, 1976 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former American football running back in the National Football League who played for the Detroit Lions (1998–2002).

High school career
Raised in Hermann, Missouri, Brock Olivo attended St. Francis Borgia Regional High School in Washington, Missouri, where he rushed for 5,030 yards and 70 touchdowns during his high school career. He led Borgia to an undefeated season and Missouri state championship in 1993 when he was also named "Player of the Year."

Education
Olivo attended the University of Missouri where he gained a degree in English, Creative Writing, and Literature. As a member of the football team, Olivo was the first awardee of the Mosi Tatupu Award for the top special teams player in college football. He briefly held the University of Missouri career rushing and touchdown records, but both have since been broken (twice as of 2008 ). He was the seventh player in school history to have his jersey retired.

Following his NFL football career he worked for three years at the National Italian American Foundation in Washington, D.C. Subsequently, Olivo enrolled in a program at the University of Bologna's Alma Graduate School of Business. where he attained a master's degree in Marketing and Communications.

NFL career
Brock Olivo was undrafted out of college but made the Detroit Lions roster with his unparalleled work ethic and his tenacious style of play on their special teams units. Olivo played for 5 seasons as a captain on Detroit's league-leading special teams where he led the team in tackles on special teams two of his five seasons and was a valuable backup at running back and fullback.

Overseas career
After retiring from the NFL, Olivo coached and played football for 6 months in Italy with the SS. Lazio Marines (Rome), a team in the top division of Italy's American professional football league. He helped the team to the championship semifinal game for the first time in the team's history, leading the country in rushing and touchdowns.

Current life and career
Brock Olivo currently resides in Myrtle Beach, SC and is the Runningbacks coach and Special Teams asst. for Coastal Carolina University, a member of the Big South Conference in college football's FCS division. Prior to becoming a coach at CCU, Olivo resided in Omaha, NE where he was the Runningbacks coach and a Special Teams asst. for the UFL's Omaha Nighthawks. Olivo returned to the U.S. after having lived in Rome, Italy, where he was the Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator of the Italian National Football team www.fidaf.org, which plays for the European Cup every 4 years, and in the interim, competes in international tournaments with other European national teams. He was also the Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator and Special Teams Coordinator of a Series A team, the S.S. Lazio Marines, which competes in Italy's IFL, the highest level of American Football competition in the country. In 2008 Olivo ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Missouri's 9th congressional district, losing the Republican primary to eventual victor Blaine Luetkemeyer.