All Access Coach Leasing pledges $250,000 to MTSU coaching center
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — All Access Coach Leasing LLC 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, 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 Andrew Woodfin Miller Sr. Education Center at 503 E. Bell St.
“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 College of Behavioral and Health Sciences Dean, Peter Grandjean. “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.”
What the gift pays for
The speaker series will bring outside voices to campus to show students how a life changes direction, Jubenville said. The pledge also covers the center’s daily operations.
“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 Colby Jubenville, Ph. D., director of the Center for Student Coaching and Success and 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.”
A stranger on an airplane
Eric Blankenship, co-owner of All Access Coach Leasing, met Jubenville on a flight about a decade ago. Blankenship and business partner Jim Borelli later hired him to work with All Access employees, and the two met roughly twice a month for three and a half to four years.
Blankenship came to Nashville to be a singer. That did not 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 now employs 117 people across build, mechanical, paint, interior repair, and laundry operations. In April 2025, more than three decades after he arrived, he made his Grand Ole Opry debut.
“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,” Blankenship said. “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 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 John Floyd, founder of Ole South Properties and a member of the MTSU Board of Trustees.
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.
