Archie Griffin

Born at University Hospital nearly in the shadow of Ohio Stadium, Archie Griffin has been a Buckeye his whole life. He is a former American football player who made a name for himself as a running back for the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League (NFL) and briefly for the Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League. Notably, Griffin is the only two-time winner of the Heisman Trophy in NCAA football history, an achievement that he accomplished in 1974 and 1975.

During his NFL career, Griffin rushed for a total of 2,808 yards and had 192 receptions for 1,607 yards. He played in the Super Bowl XVI with the Bengals in 1982. Prior to his professional career, Griffin played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he led the team to four Big Ten Conference titles. His college rushing record was 5,589 yards on 924 carries, which was an NCAA record at the time. He was the first player ever to start in four Rose Bowls, and his jersey number, 45, was retired by Ohio State in honor of his contributions to the team.

After serving for 11 years as president and CEO of The Ohio State University Alumni Association, Griffin stepped back in 2015 to a consultant role as a senior advisor in the Office of Advancement at Ohio State. In addition to these roles, Griffin also served as assistant athletic director for the university. Currently, he is the spokesman for the Wendy's High School Heisman Award program.

Apart from his on-field achievements, Griffin has also been recognized for his off-field contributions. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the International Sports Hall of Fame. He serves on the board of directors for Motorists Insurance, Abercrombie and Fitch, and the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. He was one of the investors in Mandalay Baseball Properties LLC, which owned the Dayton Dragons.

Griffin learned the life lesson of paying forward in life, devoting countless hours to philanthropic causes. At Ohio State, Griffin created the Archie Griffin Scholarship Fund, which benefits Ohio State’s Olympic sports programs. In the central Ohio community, The Archie and Bonita Griffin Foundation Fund helps develop sports, educational, and travel programs for youth as they inspire the next generation to dream big. Griffin has three children: Anthony, Andre, and Adam. His son, Andre, became the head football coach at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin School.

Locally, Griffin has been inducted into the Ohio High School Athletic Association Circle of Champions, which recognizes former high school student-athletes who have demonstrated outstanding character and accomplishments on and off the field. He was inducted into the National Federation of State High School Association Hall of Fame in 1996. He was also honored in May 2015 to be the commencement speaker during spring graduation ceremonies at Ohio State. Griffin was recently selected as the No. 4 all-time player in college football history by ESPN.

As a sought-after speaker and humanitarian, Griffin serves on many boards and foundations. He is a former Director of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Mr. Griffin serves as a Director of Encova Insurance Company and a Member of the board of directors for The Columbus Youth Foundation and the Ohio Auto Club.