John McConnell graduated from Loyola in 2003 as the men's tennis team's all-time leader in singles and doubles wins, and he was no slouch in the classroom either. McConnell was a part of the school's inaugural Sellinger Scholars Program and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in finance. Since then, McConnell has kept busy with professional and family life. He earned his J.D. from Villanova University in 2006 and is a member of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey bars as a partner with Goldberg Segalla.

Outside of his practice of law, McConnell has been part of the family business of racehorse breeding. Recently, McConnell and his family bred "Prince Lucky," a gelding which won seven races frmo 2017-19, including two graded stakes races.

Learn more about McConnell, one of Loyola's most-recent Athletics Hall of Fame inductees in this week's Alum Spotlight presented by Fence Masters! 

After graduating from Loyola, you chose to enter law school. What led you to the legal field?
 
In 2003, I graduated from Loyola Summa Cum Laude with a degree in finance from Loyola's Sellinger School of Business and was one of the members of Loyola's initial Sellinger Scholar's Program taught by the then-Dean, Dr. Peter DeLorenzi. In that very special class, we learned so much about business, law, e-commerce and other interesting commercial issues, and it made me want to combine what I learned at the Sellinger School with a legal degree. After graduating from Loyola in the Spring of 2003, I began law school at Villanova University's School of Law in the Fall of 2003. 
 
When you graduated from Villanova, where did your law career take you?
 
After graduating from Villanova Law in 2006, I took and passed the Pennsylvania and New Jersey bar exams. I worked at several great firms and gained valuable experience as a civil and commercial litigator. In 2014, I joined Goldberg Segalla, a firm that currently has about 400 attorneys across 20 offices nationwide. I made partner in 2017 and am in both the General Liability and Commercial Litigation Practice Groups. As a member of the Commercial Litigation Practice Group, I am able to use my degree from Loyola's Sellinger School in representing clients in the banking and financial services industries.  
 
Outside of your profession, your family has been involved in horse racing. How did that interest start, and how did it develop for you?

 

My dad, Daniel McConnell, Sr., has been a breeder and owner of thoroughbred horse racing for about 30 years. My dad is one of the hardest worker's I have ever met, and he has never taken a day off in his life. He has been taking me to the racetracks, including Pimlico and Delaware Park, as long as I can remember.Some of the best days of my life have been with my dad and my mom, Joanna McConnell, at the racetrack. My parents have always encouraged me to study, get a great education and pursue my dreams.
 
Explain for the general fan who goes into horse breeding?
 
I have never been on a horse before and did not grow up on a farm! Using many of the same principals I learned at Loyola, I use research and statistics to find the stallions that match up best with our mares, and I try to find value in sires that may be a bit undervalued for one reason or another. We are not operating with a big budget! Although sires can command stud fees of $100,000 or more, I usually try to breed to relatively inexpensive sires whom stand for $5,000 or less. When we bred multiple graded-stakes winner Prince Lucky, this was the result of what looked like a perfect match, as his sire (father), Corinthian really matched up tremendously with his mom, our mare Lucky Notion.
 
Prince Lucky was a very successful horse. What are some of his top highlights?
 
Prince Lucky won two Graded Stakes races at Gulfstream Park in Florida and two stakes races at Belmont Park for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. For each of his Gulfstream wins, my dad and I would wake up early, catch a flight to Florida and fly home after the race so we could be with our families, and I could make sure I had time to hit tennis balls with my kids! However, to have a horse we bred win some of the biggest and best races in the world is a once and a lifetime experience that I will never forget.
 
Are you working with other horses?
 

We have several broodmares and about five yearlings and weanlings, as well as two thoroughbreds at Parx in Pennsylvania. We try to name some of the horses after our family members. Prince Lucky was named after my son, Leyton. As far as our future runners, we are highest on a weanling filly named Beauty in Motion, whom I named after my wife, Kelley. Beauty in Motion is by two-time Breeders Cup winner Goldencents and out of a mom, or mare, which was a five-time stakes winner on the track. I read every book, magazine or article I can, create spreadsheets with important data and try to give us the best possible percentage chance to succeed. We will breed four mares next year, and I have already and will probably spend hundreds of hours researching each mating to find the best fits for our mares.  
 
If you could, take a moment and reflect on your time as a student-athlete at Loyola. How did that experience help shape where you are now, professionally and personally?
 
I have to give credit to our Hall of Fame coach, Rick McClure! Coach McClure was instrumental in ensuring that we made academics priority number one! Without him, I would not be where I am today. Coach recruited me, gave me every opportunity to succeed on the courts and, more importantly, encouraged and gave me and my teammates the tools to thrive academically. One of the reasons I graduated from Loyola Summa Cum Laude was because I never missed a class (unless it was an excused absence where we were traveling)!  With Coach McClure's help, I graduated as Loyola's Medal of Merit winner, for having the highest GPA of any male student athlete in 2003's graduating class. More importantly, we achieved a great deal as a team, and I had many memorable moments with my teammates including James Amadeo, Jonathon Falcichio, Nick Bowers, Ryan Bradley and Manuel Acevedo Reid, to name a few. This year, I was honored to be inducted into Loyola's Hall of Fame Class of 2020!