If Michael Kosta could describe himself in one sentence, he would say “a highly sarcastic funnyman who wants to make love to you.”

Kosta, University alumnus, comedian, tennis player, author and show host, will kick off GradWeek, a series of events that celebrates the achievements of all graduating students. The events begin Monday, April 28.

“I love Champaign-Urbana and I’m really excited to come back, even though it’s for something crazy that I do – comedy,” Kosta said.

This is the first time Kosta has returned to his alma mater since 2005. He has never performed at the University.

Kosta said he plans on talking about his experiences at the University, what is and isn’t important about college, perform comedy acts and take questions from the crowd.

The Michigan native said he was recruited by the University of Michigan but chose to go to Illinois instead for the tennis program. He attended the University from 1998 to 2002 and majored in speech communications.

“We have a great team now, and we had a great team when I was there as well,” Kosta said.

Kosta was greatly involved with the tennis team, which was ranked number one in the nation his junior year. That was a first for the program, he said.

Kosta has played tennis since age 4 because of his parents’ involvement in the sport.

“They used to take all us kids down to the local racket club, and I just think they were tired of babysitting so they told us to run around until we got tired,” he said. “That’s how it all started.”

Kosta said he has great memories at Illinois taking classes on the Quad, living in Forbes Hall, working for WPGU for a year and of course, playing tennis.

“He has always been a comedian, he was our comedian,” said Janis Glosser, administrative assistant for the professional tennis team Kosta played on.

Glosser said Kosta made traveling with the team fun and turned everything into a joke.

“Practice could be totally quiet and they could be very ingrained in what was going on, then Michael would make a joke and everyone would crack up laughing,” she said. “You never knew what Michael was going to do.”

After graduation, Kosta coached at the University of Michigan and at the same time, started doing open mic. He said the performances went well and he was offered a lot of work, which prompted his decision to become a comedian.

“I was always obsessed with getting attention,” Kosta said. “I think that’s from the fact that I’m the youngest of four kids. I was always competing for attention.”

Nathan Zeder, Kosta’s doubles partner in his junior and senior year at the University, said Kosta likes to make himself noticed wherever he is. He remembers one spring break in California when their tennis coach challenged the team to get attention from spring breakers.

“Mike came down in an American flag and a Speedo, and I think he had a helmet on as well,” Zeder said. “He made sure he won the competition.”

Kosta said when he quit coaching and told his parents he wanted to be a comedian, his mother started reading a book titled “When Our Grown Kids Disappoint Us: Letting Go of Their Problems, Loving Them Anyway, and Getting on with Our Lives.”

“It’s a real book that in her passive aggressive way, instead of telling me she was disappointed in me, started to read this book,” Kosta said.

He said his parents have come around since then.

“Once I was on national TV, and they saw I was enjoying myself and having success, they’ve been nothing but supportive,” he said.

Kosta has been showcased on Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham” and was asked to the HBO US Comedy Festival in 2007.

“He’s doing the same thing he was doing, he’s just getting paid for it now, which is great,” Glosser said.

Kosta also wrote a tennis instruction book titled “101 Tips For Winning More Tennis Matches” while playing on the professional tennis tour for three years.

“It is meant to be humorous, fun and should help people, which is what I try to do,” he said.

Kosta said he has always had a real passion for both tennis and comedy. He added that even though he wasn’t an entertainer in college, he was always a huge fan of stand-up comedy.

“As a dream job, this is what I wanted to do, and it’s amazing that it has worked,” Kosta said.

Kosta has lived in Hollywood for one year, and hosts CCHA All Access, a television show that covers collegiate hockey on Fox Sports Network. He is also pitching a television show to several networks. He said he can not reveal details.

“People involved in show business encouraged me to move out here, and it’s been good for me,” Kosta said. “It’s definitely a little scary when you leave the Midwest. There are actually too many fake breasts around here (Hollywood) to be honest.”

Kosta said he is excited to return to Illinois to kick off GradWeek and hopes people laugh and take away an understanding that they should not take life too seriously.

“I just want people to remember that we should all just enjoy our lives, laugh, and we should all make love to each other,” he said.