AUBURN, Ala. – Quentin Riggins wishes he could share his history-making election as Auburn University's first Black Board of Trustees president pro tempore with his father and his football coach.
"Both of them were very instrumental in shaping me and providing me discipline and guidance," said Riggins, who lost his father, Ernest, in 1998, and whose coach at Auburn, Pat Dye, passed away in 2020. "I would love to sit back and talk with them one day."
An Auburn trustee since 2017, Riggins served as BOT vice president before being elected to succeed Bob Dumas as president pre tempore on June 9, becoming the first African American to do so.
"I was hoping that as I was learning from my colleagues that I certainly would earn it along the way," Riggins said. "Something I never thought about, never dreamed about. I'm very humbled by it.
"Any time your colleagues believe you have the ability to lead in a position like this, it's truly a blessing and I don't take it lightly."
From 1986-89, Riggins helped Auburn win four straight Iron Bowls and three SEC championships before serving as the Auburn Sports Network's sideline reporter for 25 seasons from 1991-2015.
The 2019 Walter Gilbert Award recipient, presented to former Auburn student-athletes who distinguish themselves through achievements after graduation, Riggins serves as senior vice present of governmental and corporate affairs at Alabama Power.
Riggins approaches this new leadership position the same way he's tackled his athletic and corporate careers: with preparation and commitment.
"You have to prepare for each meeting and you have to be committed to working with your fellow trustees, President Roberts and his administration to try to make sure every student has the best possible experience," he said.
Riggins credits two roles with preparing him to serve effectively as president pro tempore of Auburn's BOT: working for Auburn University Student Affairs early in his career and being the parent of an Auburn graduate.
"That was huge preparation so I could understand the inner workings of Auburn," Riggins said of the former. "My daughter (Madison Riggins) is not shy. She told me as a student, and she tells me now as an alum exactly what she's looking for from Auburn and from us as leaders."
Madison Riggins is entering her third year at the University of Arkansas School of Law.
"She's the loudest Auburn fan in Fayetteville, Arkansas," he said. "And she embraces that."
Riggins traces his work ethic to his job in a fast-foot restaurant in Montgomery as a teenager, famously leaving his recruiting visit to Auburn during halftime of the first game of Bo Jackson's Heisman-winning season so Quentin could be on time for his shift.
"The best thing that ever happened to me," he said of that first job. "I wouldn't change that experience for anything in the world because it became easy for me to work."
To current and future Auburn students, the new president pro tempore of the Board of Trustees encourages them to embrace the first virtue outlined in the Auburn Creed. Hard work. It's what helped an undersized linebacker become an All-SEC standout, and 35 years later, his beloved university's board president.
"Anybody who is working and has dreams and goals, I would tell them to trust themselves and learn a lot about themselves," Riggins said. "They can do anything they want."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer