A personal finance course with cross-campus reach will help UW–Madison student athletes better prepare for their futures on the heels of seismic shifts in compensation — with a boost from financial services company Robinhood Markets, Inc.
The Financial Life Skills for-credit course (CNSR SCI 111), housed within the School of Human Ecology’s Consumer Science department, received a grant from Robinhood’s Money Drills™ program to expand financial education for undergraduate students, including student athletes.
Financial Life Skills covers topics such as understanding debt and credit, spending and saving plans, insurance, investing and retirement. The course currently draws more than 1,000 students per year.
The grant from Robinhood will support enhancements to the course’s existing curriculum, integrating essential financial education tailored for student athletes, including those earning NIL (name, image and likeness) income. It will also support efforts to expand course enrollment and broaden the Money Drills™ program’s reach.
“Our mission is to increase financial well-being and confidence in money management,” says Lindsay Dritsas, Personal Finance instructor and teaching administrator. “With Robinhood’s support to expand our curriculum, we’re able to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to build long‑term financial stability and well‑being and offer added benefits for student athletes in the face of NIL.”
Robinhood’s Money Drills™ program launched in 2022 and has 18 university partners across the U.S. Its mission is to expand access to financial education so that athletes and students can fund their futures, whether they continue to grow in their sport or explore new career paths after graduation. Money Drills™ is a first-of-its-kind, for-graduation-credit financial education program for athletes and students to develop the skills and confidence needed to manage their finances.
“We are proud to expand the Money Drills™ program to Wisconsin and support on-campus courses that help instill financial confidence in students,” says Steve Quirk, Chief Brokerage Officer at Robinhood Markets, Inc. “As a proud alumnus of UW–Madison and longtime mentor to its student groups like the Finance Club, I understand the positive impact that its professors and programs have long after graduation. Through Money Drills™, every student has the opportunity to learn lifelong financial skills as they prepare for their future.”
The new expanded Financial Life Skills curriculum is expected to launch in fall 2026 and is open to students in any major.
The School of Human Ecology is home to two of the fastest growing majors on campus — Consumer Behavior & Marketplace Studies and Personal Finance — and the Badger$ense program, which offers peer-to-peer financial coaching.
About Robinhood: Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD) transformed financial services by introducing commission-free stock trading and democratizing access to the markets for millions of investors. Today, Robinhood, through its subsidiaries, lets you trade stocks, options, futures, swaps (which include event contracts), and crypto, invest for retirement, earn with Robinhood Gold, and access an expert-managed portfolio with Robinhood Strategies. Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Robinhood puts customers in the driver’s seat, delivering unprecedented value and products intentionally designed for a new generation of investors. Additional information about Robinhood can be found at www.robinhood.com.