The opening convocation will wrap up the festivities for BuilderFest 2021 and officially start the academic year. It will also feature the recognition of students included on the Dean’s Honor Roll for the spring 2021 semester and the announcement of the Scholar of the College.

Guy Troupe to Speak at Opening Convocation on Friday, August 20

Guy Troupe, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Troupe21 & Associates and founder of and CEO of the Player Networking Event (PNE) Super Bowl weekend, will be the featured speaker at SC’s annual opening convocation Friday, Aug. 20, at 11 a.m., in the Richardson Performing Arts Center.  There is no admission charge and the public is invited to attend.  Masks are advised for guests who are unvaccinated for Covid-19.

The opening convocation will wrap up the festivities for Builder Fest 2021 and officially start the academic year. It will feature the recognition of students included on the Dean’s Honor Roll for the spring 2021 semester and the announcement of the Scholar of the College.

“We are excited to host Mr. Troupe at Southwestern,” says Ross Peterson-Veatch, vice president for academic affairs and Dean of the college.  “His experience and interests resonate deeply with SC’s focus on students as individuals and on our mission to provide them an education that supports their intellectual, personal, and spiritual growth. He is an excellent speaker and will help us kick off another great year.”

Troupe, reared by decedents of historic Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Okla., graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. He earned undergraduate (Magna Cum Laude) and graduate degrees from Howard University and completed doctoral-level coursework at Teachers College, Columbia University.

His professional career began as a substance abuse educator and counselor for the District of Columbia Public Schools and Associated Catholic Charities. In 1991, Troupe launched a career in athletics as compliance services intern for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and worked six years as an NCAA enforcement representative making significant contributions to high school and college athletics.

The National Football League (NFL) pursued and hired Troupe as Director of Player Programs in 1997. He was tasked with the challenge of designing and managing player development initiatives for all 32 NFL teams. Troupe led all phases of personnel management, program development, and evaluation of the NFL’s career transition, player assistance, and training and development programs. Highlights of his NFL tenure include three promotions; design and delivery of the NFL Rookie Symposium curriculum; co-designer of NFL Club Life Skills; chair of the Player Development Steering Committee; co-founder of the Professional Association of Athlete Development Specialist; first-ever recipient of NFL Player Development’s Commitment to Service and Excellence Award; and the inaugural chair of the NFL’s Corporate Diversity Council.

Known for his ability to design and develop innovative human capital management initiatives in sports, Troupe served as the chief architect of the following: NCAA Big Brother/Big Sister Program, NCAA Operation Intercept, NCAA Advanced and Expert Coaching Programs, NFL/NCAA Life Skills Speakers Bureau, NFL Career Transition Program, NFL High School Coaching Program, NFL Europe Coaching and Administration Program, NFL Veteran Co-Facilitation Program, NFL Credit Management Program, NFL Diversity Mentoring and Internship Program (now known as the Junior Rotational Program), and the NFL Alumni Player of the Year Awards (now known as NFL Honors).