Reggie Rivers
Hometown: Dayton, Ohio
Sport: Football
Years Played: 1987-1990
Hall of Honor Induction: 2003

PERSONAL

Reggie is a native of Dayton, Ohio. He was born into an Air Force family as the fourth of five children. During his youth, he lived in Ohio, England, Florida and Greece before his family settled in the San Antonio area. He spent the remainder of his adolescence in Central Texas. Reggie has been in the Denver area since 1991.

FOOTBALL

As a senior at Randolph High School in San Antonio, Reggie rushed for 1,200 yards and earned a full athletic scholarship to Southwest Texas State University.

At the collegiate level, he amassed 2,500 career yards and was named to four All-American teams. He signed with the Denver Broncos as a rookie free agent in 1991.

Reggie was with the Broncos for six years, and at the end of his first season was named to Pro Football Weekly’s All-Rookie Team as a special teams player.

In 1993, his teammates selected him as Special Teams Player of the Year.

EDUCATION/JOURNALISM

Reggie landed his first newspaper job when he was a senior in high school (1985), working for the now-defunct San Antonio Light as an obituary writer. In 1986, he enrolled at Southwest Texas State University (SWT) as a newspaper journalism major.

During his college tenure, Reggie served internships with the Austin American-Statesman newspaper in Texas and Newsday on Long Island. In 1987, Reggie was selected by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association as the Outstanding Editorial Summer Intern in Texas. In 1989, Reggie was one of 12 students selected nationally to attend the Graduate Enhancement Program in Communications at Ohio University.

Reggie graduated from SWT in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. He was selected by the SWT Alumni Association as the Lyndon Baines Johnson Outstanding Senior Student, and was also chosen to deliver the student salutation at graduation.

After moving to Colorado to try out for the Denver Broncos, Reggie was hired by the Rocky Mountain News to write a weekly sports column. The column was initially scheduled to be a four-week affair during his rookie training camp, but it turned into an eight-year relationship with the News.

Between 1993 and 1997 Reggie was a guest host on several Denver television and radio shows including Broncos Beat and Sports Extra on KCNC Channel 4, The Orange Zone and Reggie’s Kids on KUSA Channel 9 and a weekly radio segment called Rolling with Rivers on KOA-AM (850 radio). From 1997 to1999 Reggie hosted an evening call-in talk show on 850 KOA radio. From 1999 to 2002 Reggie hosted a daily afternoon drive time show on KHOW 630-AM radio.

In 1994, Reggie wrote and self-published The Vance: The Beginning & The End, the as-told autobiography of Broncos wide receiver Vance Johnson. In 2000, he self-published the novel Power Shift, about an escalating feud between a columnist and an NFL receiver. In 2004, Reggie published the novel, 4th and Fixed, about a crime family fixing NFL games. This book was released by Sourcebooks in August 2004. The movie rights were optioned by Mission Pictures in September 2004.

CURRENTLY

Reggie is the weekend sports anchor at CBS4 in Denver, writes a column for Pro Football Weekly, and hosts the PBS television show Global Agenda on KBDI Channel 12. Reggie is a Master’s candidate at the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver.

CHARITIES

Reggie has supported numerous charitable organizations including D.A.R.E, the ACLU, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Colorado Center for the Book, United Way, Kiwanis, Rotary, American Red Cross, Partners Inc., The Children’s Hospital of Denver, Punts with a Purpose, Rocky Mountain Adoption Exchange, Big Brothers/ Big Sisters, American Heart Association, Food Bank of the Rockies, the Hospice of Saint John and many more.

AWARDS

1987 H.M. Fentress Award – given by Texas Daily Newspaper Association as the Outstanding Journalism Intern in Texas
1990 Kodak All-American, AP All-American, Sports Network All-American and UPI All-American football player at Southwest Texas State University
1990 Scholar Athlete of the Year – Southland Conference
1991 Lyndon Baines Johnson Outstanding Senior Student at Southwest Texas State University.
1992 Broncos Community Action Player Award in recognition of volunteer service throughout Colorado.
1992 Bob Martin Award, given annually to the Broncos player who is most cooperative with the media.
1993 Broncos Edge Shave Gel NFL Man of the year in recognition of superior athletic and civic performance.
1995 NFL Unsung Hero Award in recognition of volunteer efforts.
1996 Broncos True Value Hardware NFL Man of the Year in recognition of athletic and civic performance.
1996 Young Coloradoan of the Year – Cherry Creek Jaycees.
1996 Byron “Whizzer” White Humanitarian Award, given annually by the NFL Player’s Association in recognition of outstanding volunteer service.
2000 Radio Journalist of the Year – Colorado Association of Black Journalists.
2001 Larry Tajiri Memorial Media Award – Colorado ACLU
2004 Food for the Heart Community Award – The Food Bank of the Rockies Guild.
2005 President’s Award – Colorado Library Association.

SWT Honors:

1987:

SLC Academic

1988:

SLC Academic Honorable Mention

1989:

ALL SLC 2nd team

1990:

Walter Camp First Team

Associated Press Second Team

Sports Network Second Team

American Football Coaches Association First Team