Lincoln Riley

Lincoln Riley was named head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners in 2017 after the retirement of Bob Stoops. Riley previously served as offensive coordinator under Stoops beginning in 2015. That season, the Sooners had statistically the seventh-best offense in the nation and advanced to the College Football Playoff. For his efforts, Riley was given the Broyles Award, which honors the best assistant coach in the country.

In 2017, the Sooners posted a 12-2 record and ended the year with a No. 3 ranking in the country in Riley’s first season as head coach. Oklahoma won the Big 12 Championship and made it to the Rose Bowl, losing to Georgia, 54-48, in double overtime. The next season of 2018 saw another highly successful year for Riley and the Sooners, as Oklahoma again went 12-2, won the Big 12 for the second straight year and were ranked as the No. 4 team in the country, eventually losing to Nick Saban and Alabama, 45-34, in the Orange Bowl. For his efforts, Riley was named the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year.

Riley continued his successful coaching journey, securing a total of four Big 12 championships with the Sooners. In 2021, he was chosen as the head football coach at USC, bringing over two decades of coaching experience to the role. Under his leadership, USC was ranked 9th by ESPN in 2022. His dynamic coaching strategies and focus on motivating teams for success are central to his speaking engagements, where he emphasizes traditional values like commitment, consistency, and preparation. Riley's speaking topics also cover playing with the right mentality, intention, and expectations, providing actionable strategies for transforming group dynamics.