Breaking Barriers: Milan (Mimi) Bolden-Morris
8/31/2022 2:17:00 PM | Football, Features
This feature was originally published in the 2022 Michigan Football Yearbook, which is available at MDen.com
By Barbara Cossman
Mimi Bolden-Morris is a trailblazer. A confident, capable, powerful trailblazer who's going after what she wants. Just like anyone else. Except she's a woman on the Michigan football coaching staff. Bolden-Morris is in her first year as an offensive graduate assistant with Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines, the first female GA at a Power Five school.
Bolden-Morris was raised with her brother Mike, a senior defensive end on the 2022 Michigan football team, by two parents committed to discipline and respect. Her father, Michael, a policeman, and her mother, Melanie, a high school principal, raised their children on those values.
"Discipline is HUGE in my house," Bolden-Morris explains. "Work ethic, how we interact with people -- respect, love, and filter out the rest -- that's what I grew up on and it stuck with me."
That, and a fierce faith, have navigated her through uncharted waters. In addition to being on U-M's staff, she's pursuing her second master's degree (in public policy), adding to a master's in sports industry management she earned while playing basketball at Georgetown. Bolden-Morris spent her first three-and-a-half years in college playing basketball at Boston College where she earned her Bachelor's degree in communication.
She spent her final half year at Georgetown, and took advantage of the extra COVID year to complete her first master's. Now in Ann Arbor, she's ready for more challenges.
"Little me loved the idea of proving 8-year-old-boys wrong"
Bolden-Morris is accustomed to competing with the boys. She juggled multiple sports -- on both girls and co-ed teams -- throughout her childhood: baseball, softball, basketball and football.
"My dad made a rule that we had to participate in two or more sports a year so there was very little time sitting at home," she explains. "I started out playing baseball. I loved competing with the guys. I guess little me loved the idea of proving 8-year-old boys wrong. I pitched, I caught, played first and third. I was introduced to softball around 8 and played both baseball and softball until I was about 11, then committed to playing travel softball until I was about 14.
"When softball season was over, I played flag football in the fall which was always my favorite time of year. I was only allowed to play quarterback on the deep balls because I threw too hard for the girls to catch, so I spent the majority of my flag football career at receiver."
Growing up in a sports-minded family obviously developed her skill and competitive spirit, but an innate athleticism and acuity were the difference in getting her to this point. She attributes the similarities across those sports to being able to pick things up more quickly.
"Exposure to so many different sports helped me, especially mentally," she explains. "The majority of sports I played, I was in a position that was pretty high IQ -- quarterback, wide receiver, having to make reads on defense. I was the point guard and shooting guard in basketball.
"I always had the ball in my hands to make decisions. I was the catcher in softball and baseball, and I pitched too. I was always in a position to have to understand what my opponent might be doing so I could manipulate them in ways."
"It doesn't matter what other people have to say, there's no statue of a critic"
Without hesitation, when asked if she was nervous about this new role and experience, Bolden-Morris said, "No." Period. No doubt her journey has steadily developed her confidence and composure, but her path to Ann Arbor wasn't always smooth. She's faced controversy and doubt, like most of us, and that's what she attributes her success to.
As a freshman at Boston College, Bolden-Morris earned All-ACC Freshman honors and was runner-up for Rookie of the Year. She was a leader from the jump. But then a new coach came to town, and with her, a new system and approach. In a complete 180, Bolden-Morris barely saw the floor.
"I barely played, it wasn't until the end of the season," she recalls. "It was the same team, I just wasn't playing. My coach was pretty old school in her approach and wanted us all to fit this very slim, track-star build. So we had weigh-ins, all these running tests, and if you didn't pass them you couldn't practice until you did.
"I was overwhelmed mentally, probably at my lowest in life," she admits. "Dealing with that, I feel a little bit invincible now that I'm out of it."
The ups and downs continued into her junior and senior years in Boston, but true to herself, she looked for the "why" and the lessons learned from the experience.
"I had to evaluate how I was going to get through that situation I'd never been in and still maintain my character throughout," she reflects. "Because I lost myself. I lost my character and the respect that I came into college with, and I had to find that again. I had to lean on my faith and surround myself with people who steered me in the right direction. That's what got me here. I had to lose it in order to see how to grow from it.
"Regardless of whatever situation you're going through, just be the best version of yourself and continue to spread goodness and you get it right back. Right now, I'm in a position where I'm reaping everything I sowed at Boston College. I just continued to stay positive, be the best teammate I could be, and continued to work hard even though I knew I wasn't going to play."
"All I can do is my best"
Now, here in Ann Arbor, Bolden-Morris is working toward her goal of being a coach in what could easily be an extremely challenging situation.
"If I had one worry, it would be how I'm treated, but they're absolutely amazing," Bolden-Morris says of her Michigan family. "They treat me like a little sister. I'm super grateful to be in a position like this. I don't know many programs that would've accepted me.
"They have a lot of confidence in me as well. They give me hard projects that require a lot of work, but they trust me. They treat me like anybody else. If Coach Harbaugh doesn't think I'm doing something well, he tells me and holds me accountable. I love that I'm treated just like anybody else."
Bolden-Morris looks to her colleagues, some who've been in the business longer than she's been alive, and considers them "father figures, grandpa figures, big brother figures." She's always looking to learn something.
"I know the least out of almost everybody, but I keep the mentality of all I can do is my best. All I can control is the effort I put in and the attitude I bring."
"If you want something, go get it"
Bolden-Morris seems wise beyond her years. Pearls of wisdom naturally spill out of her, one after another. Maybe it's the discipline and work ethic that have been instilled in her. She definitely attributes it to her student-athlete experiences. Maybe it's the confidence that stems from all of that.
"I'm not nervous, surprisingly," Bolden-Morris admits about her role with Michigan football. "I have a lot of faith. I'm grounded in that in everything I do. I'm more excited than anything. If it's meant to be, it will be. That's how I live my life."
When asked if she had any concluding comments to share, she thoughtfully offered this up:
"Whatever it is you want or are pursuing, don't give up on it. It may not seem like an opportunity is there, but if you pursue it with all your heart and continue to be a good person in the process, good things will happen."
Whatever it is, you can be sure bigger things are coming for Mimi Bolden-Morris.
