EKU ATHLETICS

News release

RICHMOND — Former Eastern Kentucky University football player Caleb Watkins is attending the Third Annual Campbell Trophy Summit, sponsored by Intuit Inc., this week at Stanford University in California.

 As one of EKU’s former nominees for The William V. Campbell Trophy, Watkins will join 213 other previous nominees from around the nation at the summit.  The 2019 event, taking place August 14-17, will provide a powerful opportunity for the members of the Campbell Trophy community to interact and learn from many of the nation’s top entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley CEOs about the lessons that have guided them to the highest levels of success. 

 The event will also include a career expo with more than a dozen companies on site recruiting the attendees.  Organized as a tribute to the late Bill Campbell, the award’s namesake, the event serves as a vehicle for the many leaders impacted by Campbell to pass on his insights for leadership and personal growth to the next generation.

 Each year, The William V. Campbell Trophy® recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.  The 12-14 finalists for the trophy receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. The winner of the William V. Campbell Trophy receives a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship.

 Eastern has had six semifinalists for the award since 2010 – Logan O’Connor (2010, placekicker), Patrick Ford (2012, offensive lineman), Ichiro Vance (2013, linebacker), Watkins (2014, running back), Avery Pitt (2016, defensive lineman) and Jeffrey Canady (2017, linebacker).  EKU’s 2019 nominee for the Campbell Trophy is kicker Samuel Hayworth.

 A four-day event, the 2019 Summit includes leadership workshops, a career expo, team building activities, a physical and mental competition dubbed the “Campbell Championship Series,” a dinner cruise of San Francisco Bay and several other activities designed to build relationships.  The panels will cover a wide range of topics designed to foster leadership, personal growth and the career development of the attendees. The sessions this year include a Hall of Fame panel with Ronnie Lott (USC) and 1983 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Steve Young (BYU); a workshop with Liz Wiseman, the author of The New York Times bestseller “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter;” and sessions with Intuit CEO Brad Smith, SoFI CEO and former Army West Point linebacker Anthony Noto, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner and retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal.

 Companies participating in the career expo include Altamont Capital, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deloitte, Enjoy, EY, Google, Intuit, JMI Sports, McChrystal Group, SoFi, Sonim Technologies, WeDriveU and the XFL as well as professionals from the medical and real state fields and several entrepreneurs from a diverse range of emerging companies.

 Watkins, a Corbin, Kentucky native, was a member of the Colonel football team from 2010 to 2014.  He had a career game against Austin Peay in 2013 with 67 rushing yards, 26 receiving yards and two touchdowns.