By Davis Seal

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — All Access Coach Leasing has pledged $250,000 to the Center for Student Coaching and Success at Middle Tennessee State University, funding the center’s daily operations and a new speaker series for students. The center announced the series on Tuesday, Oct. 6, followed by a live coaching session for students.

The center, part of MTSU’s College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, accepts students into a coaching program that works with them one-on-one and in groups toward employment in their field before they graduate. It operates out of the Miller Education Center on Bell Street.

Eric Blankenship, co-owner of Gallatin-based upscale tour bus company All Access Coach Leasing, was joined at Tuesday’s announcement of the donation by Center Director Colby Jubenville, MTSU Trustee John Floyd, founder of Ole South Properties, MTSU men’s tennis championship-winning coach Jimmy Borendame, and other MTSU representatives, including MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee, in the MEC’s second-floor atrium.

Following the announcement, Blankenship joined Jubenville, Floyd and Borendame in a live coaching session and Q&A, moderated by Jubenville, for his students in an MEC meeting room, where Blankenship shared insights into his journey to establish a successful professional entertainer transportation business, while Borendame and Floyd shared their philosophies to achieve success in their respective fields.

Watch a short recap of the day’s events below:

“Eric Blankenship has a remarkable ability to recognize an opportunity, even when the path before him does not unfold exactly as planned. He has used his God-given talents, determination and entrepreneurial spirit to build a successful business and make a meaningful difference in the lives of others,” said Peter Grandjean, dean of the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences. 

“This generous gift reflects the best of Eric’s story — seeing possibility, working hard and using his success to create opportunities for others to discover their own potential. We are deeply grateful for his investment in our students and the Center for Student Coaching and Success.”

The center coaches students to identify their strengths and build careers around them. Students accepted into the program take assessments and work with coaches in peer, one-on-one, group and online sessions. Coaching follows the Talent Development Framework, which covers students’ personal stories, emotional intelligence, growth mindset, personal branding, relationships, and knowledge of their chosen industry.

The speaker series, which launches in January, will bring outside voices to campus to show students how a life changes direction, Jubenville said. 

A stranger on an airplane

Blankenship met Jubenville on a flight about a decade ago. After their conversation, a relationship blossomed and Blankenship and business partner Jim Borelli later hired Jubenville to work with All Access employees, with Blankenship and Jubenville meeting roughly twice a month for three and a half to four years.

Blankenship came to Nashville to be a singer, but that didn’t happen on schedule. He sold T-shirts on tour, drove for touring artists, and eventually started All Access with a business partner, taking about 15 to 20 veteran employees with him. The company provides services for Music City artists and other celebrities, ranging from luxury coaches and professional drivers to in-house repair services and tour-level cleaning. It now employs 117 people across build, mechanical, paint, interior repair, and laundry operations.

But Blankenship didn’t let go of that initial musical dream, and in April 2025, more than three decades after he arrived in the Music City, he made his Grand Ole Opry debut in Nashville.

“Ten years ago, I sat down next to a stranger on an airplane, and it turned into one of the most meaningful relationships of my life,” said Jubenville, a professor in the Department of Sport and Hospitality Management. “Eric came to Nashville with a dream, built a business when the plan fell apart, and 33 years later stood on the Opry stage. That is what trajectory change looks like. Now his generosity is going to help fund the day-to-day operations of the center, a one-of-a-kind speaker series and help our students write their own version of that story.”

Said Blankenship of the gift: “I hope it allows extra time and effort from outside people we’ve talked about bringing in who can show that generation that with hard work, dedication, and not giving up, you can do anything you put your mind to. I’ve said all along, I’m not the smartest man in the room, but you’re not going to outwork me.”

What coaching looks like

Kylie Dykgraaf came to the center thinking she had to choose one interest and drop the rest. Coaching sessions with Jubenville, who students call Dr. J, pushed her in the other direction. She graduated in 2022 with degrees in exercise science and psychology.

A center scholarship covered costs after a hip surgery ended her volleyball career and her athletic scholarship.

“I had so many interests and felt that I had to choose one path, being the correct path,” Dykgraaf said. “However, after coaching sessions with Dr. J, he encouraged me to create my own unique path rather than fit into the box that many schools create for students.”

Dykgraaf went on to a master’s in kinesiology with a concentration in sport and exercise psychology. She now owns The Confident Athlete Coach LLC, a mental performance coaching business, and directs the Illinois Juniors Volleyball Club.

How the center started

The center opened Feb. 21, 2017, with a $1 million pledge from Floyd, founder of Ole South Properties and a member of the MTSU Board of Trustees. Ole South is Tennessee’s largest independent home builder.

Students accepted into the center who are actively pursuing completion of the coaching program can register for the John D. Floyd Scholarship on the MTSU Scholarship Portal before it closes each spring. Awards range from $500 to $3,000.

For more information on the Center for Student Coaching and Success, visit cbhssuccess.mtsu.edu. For more on All Access Coach Leasing, visit allaccesscoach.com.

— Davis Seal ([email protected])