Mialik played at the collegiate level at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was a 1st team All Big Ten selection as a tight end as well as an Associated Press honorable mention All-American.
Mialik initially took up sailing as a hobby but became interested in the competitive aspect of the sport when he met members of the crew of The Heart of America, a contender for the America's Cup in 1987.[3] He would go on to participate in four America's Cup campaigns, including serving as a member of the winning crew with America³ in 1992. In the victorious 1992 effort, Mialik worked as a "grinder," operating the heavy winches which control the jib and spinnaker, the two forward sails.[3]
^Doherty, Justin. What It Means to Be a Badger: Barry Alvarez and Wisconsin's Greatest Players, p. 69. Triumph Books, 2011. ISBN9781617495373. Accessed September 29, 2016. "So I really didn't start until I was a sophomore at Clifton High School in Clifton, New Jersey.... I lived in Passaic, where he went to school. I went to Clifton High School, and he went to Passaic High School, and we played each other in his senior year."
^ abGabriella Mazzucca, "Where Are They Now?" Street & Smith's Pro Football 1994, pp. 70-71.