A Penn State-Michigan Subplot: Dueling Children's Books!
Note: This story, originally published in 2022, has been updated.
Penn State and Michigan will duel for more than Big Ten title positioning and College Football Playoff rankings Saturday. They also will challenge each other in the high-stakes world of children's books.
At the center is Drew Allar, Penn State's starting quarterback, 40 percent of Michigan's starting offensive line and a retired IBM executive. Meet Andy Vodopia, whose book company's first two titles will reunite Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
In April 2022, Vodopia published "The Men Up Front," a book featuring Michigan starting linemen Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter and former lineman Ryan Hayes. Vodopia followed that title in September with "The Men In Back" featuring Allar, then a Penn State freshman.
Vodopia signed Name, Image and Likeness deals with the players, building a creative new business in the NIL space. The books showed strong initial sales (Allar's limited edition collection of 100 signed books sold out quickly) and remain available. Allar is donating sales proceeds to his hometown Medina (Ohio) Youth Gridiron Football program.
"I really want this to always be fun for me and the players," Vodopia said. "But I'll tell you, the families are having more fun with this than anybody."
Vodopia, who retired from IBM after 40 years in accounting, finance and sales, started Exit 56 Publications in 2021 to remain active and pursue a new path. Vodopia knew what he was getting into — "Children's books are a tough business," he said. "At best you're lucky to break even." — but sought the challenge.
Then Vodopia's son pointed him in a different direction: What if he contracted with college athletes to write children's books? Vodopia liked the idea and created a plan to write family books that not only highlighted athletes but also benefited them directly through NIL.
As Vodopia began contacting programs around the country, Michigan and Penn State were among the first to respond. Vodopia worked with parents of the three Michigan linemen to have the book ready for the team's spring game. The response was strong and helped lead him to Penn State.
Vodopia enjoyed working with the Michigan linemen and their families and inquired to teams about other interested linemen. A Penn State official responded last year by asking, "Would you be interested in meeting the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the country?"
So Vodopia connected with Allar's representatives at CAA, showed Allar's parents the Michigan book cover, and the project was a go.
In Allar's book, fans learned that the quarterback can drive a golf ball 300 yards and that he marveled at hearing "Sweet Caroline" at Beaver Stadium for the first time. The 34-page book is a collaboration between Vodopia, Allar and the quarterback's parents, whom Vodopia called "extremely humble people."
"The message I just wanted to give to [kids] was to always have hope and work as hard as you can," Allar said. "I never really pictured myself being in this position, because I didn’t start playing quarterback until seventh grade, eighth grade and didn't start in high school until the second half of my sophomore year. I just wanted to give them hope, and if they have dreams, they can achieve them.
"Medina Youth Football started my love for the game, and being able to support kids’ dream of playing in high school and playing in college and beyond is definitely cool."
Vodopia also published a Penn State version of "The Men Up Front" with Landon Tengwall, the former Penn State offensive lineman who announced his medical retirement from football before the season.
All three books are available for $20 at the Exit 56 website.
Penn State hosts Michigan at noon ET Saturday at Beaver Stadium. FOX will televise.
"The Men In Back" is a new children's book featuring Penn State quarterback Drew Allar. It's available through Exit 56 Productions. Allar is donating proceeds from the book to his hometown youth football program in Medina, Ohio.
Courtesy Andrew Vodopia
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