Ryan Einwag (TPR '09) Brings His Tartan Pride to the Basketball Courts of Chicago
One of the greatest players to ever put on a Carnegie Mellon basketball uniform, Ryan Einwag is still lacing up his sneakers and hitting the hardwood. Einwag and four other former Tartans have joined an adult basketball league in Chicago – and they are tearing up the courts of the Windy City.
"When I first moved out to Chicago, I didn't know one person. Having those guys all move out has been great," Einwag said. "I get to see them a lot more and they have been my best friends since the day I walked on to campus. Nothing gives me more joy than lacing them up with those guys again."
It shouldn't come as a surprise that the former Tartans are winning games in Chicago. When Einwag and his buddies were playing together in Carnegie Mellon's Skibo Gym, they turned in one of the most successful stretches in school history.
"For me, it was really about what we accomplished as a team and what we went through together," Einwag said. "While we were there, it seemed that the support we got from the student body grew each year and we started to build more of a tradition. It was all about the experiences I shared with my teammates, coaches and other members of the campus community."
The second-leading scorer in Carnegie Mellon history, Einwag helped lead the Tartans to a pair of NCAA tournament berths during his four-year career, including a second-round appearance in 2009. Carnegie Mellon was 71-35 during the stretch with four postseason appearances.
"Especially his senior year, Ryan was the best player in our games and also in our practices. That says a lot about the way he went about his business," said head coach Tony Wingen. "When you couple his individual accomplishments with what his teams did, it might be the greatest career in school history."
Following graduation in 2009, Einwag accepted a position as a trader with IMC in Chicago. A proprietary trading firm, IMC is an industry leader in providing liquidity to a variety of derivatives markets.
"It's fun working for a smaller firm in this industry because you learn so much about the entire trading process, not just the strategies that we employ," Einwag said. "There are different problems that require attention every single day, and I usually don't work on the same thing for more than a couple of days at a time."
While Einwag learned a great deal in his Tepper School of Business classes, he credits his extracurricular experience with helping prepare him for the professional world.
"I think a lot of the preparation for the working world happened outside of the classroom for me. I certainly learned a lot about the financial world in the business administration program, but I learned how to solve problems and face adversity through my basketball experience," Einwag said.
Einwag has remained connected to the Carnegie Mellon basketball program since he left campus, especially because his brother Phil is a junior guard on the current team. Einwag has been able to see his brother and the Tartans play in New York City, Chicago and in Pittsburgh this season.
"We have such a good network of alumni, which allows me to go somewhere like New York and not only watch the current team play, but get to spend time with alums and guys that I played with," Einwag said. "I take even more of a special interest because I get to watch Phil play and see my parents in a lot of the different cities."
As a young alum, Einwag has made a point of giving back to the Carnegie Mellon athletics program. The 2009 graduate feels it is important to show his gratitude for the experience he had with the Tartans.
"It's definitely important to me. I know how much my experience meant to me and how much it will continue to mean to me – not necessarily because of what we accomplished, but because of the friendships I built," Einwag said. "I want to help provide that same experience for the current athletes."