Sports have remained a common denominator for tech founder Fred Underwood.
He played basketball at Coastal Alabama Community College (formerly Jefferson Davis Community College) and Huntingdon College (Division 3), but stopped because of his grades and limited opportunities. As a result, he focused on his academics and enrolled at Alabama State University in 2010 on a scholarship, earning a bachelor’s degree in business marketing two years later.
This inspired him to launch a nonprofit to bridge the gap between resources and opportunity for athletes who want to play “at the next level” through sports camps and summer leagues, he said in a conversation with AFROTECH™.
“Throughout that, I also transitioned into just consulting, working with nonprofit organizations, being on the board of nonprofit organizations, and helping with youth sports until finally this idea of implementing technology into sports came about,” he explained.
Beyond building, Underwood’s career also includes roles as a technical sales engineer at AT&T and other companies, including Amazon, and now Microsoft, where he works as a cloud and AI solution architect helping small- to medium-sized businesses with cloud and AI adoption.
In fall 2026, Underwood enrolled at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business to pursue a Doctorate in Business Administration, researching how sports organizations are leveraging technologies such as AI and its impact on their business, he told AFROTECH™.
“It’s important to establish a really good foundation when you’re talking about AI and technology adoption,” Underwood said.
Dream Big Tech
His findings will feed into his brainchild, Dream Big Tech, a consulting firm that targets sports organizations, bringing tech and athletes together with workshops and consulting advisory sessions. He has spoken at various universities on the topic.
As an alum himself of a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Underwood noted, “The main goal is to be able to help HBCUs with the resources that they have and using technology to help them scale to compete with the best of the best schools.”
Next Mode
After various talks and conversations, Underwood wanted to create a practical framework for career development, particularly for student-athletes. Dream Big Tech has launched Next Mode, an “AI-powered career development product for student-athletes,” according to information shared with AFROTECH™.
Athletes can complete a questionnaire that will inquire about areas including:
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- School and class year
- International or domestic student status
- Transfer portal status
- Goals related to playing professionally
- Leadership experience
- Major and academic background
- Internship and professional experience
- Community involvement
- Dream industry
After completing the questionnaire, the system will build a profile in under a minute, he shared. Students will get suggestions for top career paths, skills to build, and actionable items to improve that week, which they can mark off once completed.
The chat agent will assign more tasks as they complete them or nudge students if they haven’t, Underwood told AFROTECH™. Students can also talk to the agent and inquire about different tasks, such as how to create a LinkedIn profile, how to build a network, and what brand student-athletes should know about.
“While they’re playing their sport, they should be able to leverage AI to be able to help them transition out of their sport so they’re not waiting until the day comes [when] they’re no longer playing to try to figure it out,” he said.
Their profile will also include a career readiness score on their dashboard. Then each Sunday, Next Mode will share a personalized performance recap.
Build What’s Next Campaign
Underwood has launched a $25,000 funding campaign to further support Dream Big Tech. Funds raised will support its platform development, strengthen its research, and bring together the first 250 users shaping the future of sports, pilot programs with universities, and more.
To support, visit https://drmbig.tech/support.