Daron K. Roberts is an author, professor, community leader and former NFL coach. He holds a B.A. in Plan II Honors and Government from the University of Texas (2001) and an M.P.P. from Harvard’s Kennedy School (2004). Daron has had two books published - Call an Audible and A Kids Book About Empathy - and Call an Audible was named a #1 New Release and Best Seller by Amazon and Sports Illustrated selected the book as one of its “Best Sports Business Books of 2017.” Roberts serves as founding director of the Center for Sports Leadership and Innovation (CSLi) at the University of Texas. He created CSLi in the fall of 2014. The Center is the first university-based institute dedicated to developing leadership and character curricula for high school, collegiate, and professional athletes. Daron has moderated discussions with Mia Hamm, Lance Armstrong, Shaun White, Aly Raisman, Kevin Durant, and Brené Brown.
Roberts is also a lecturer in the Liberal Arts Honors Program and his research focuses on issues of resilience, rejection, failure management, and leadership. He developed a course – A Gameplan for Winning at Life – that he teaches to incoming freshmen student-athletes at the University of Texas. During the course of each academic year, Roberts teaches nearly 400 students.
After graduating from Harvard Law School (2007), Roberts had coaching stints with the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, West Virginia Mountaineers, and Cleveland Browns. In 2010, he launched a nonprofit football camp – 4th and 1, Inc. 4th and 1 has provided free SAT prep, life skills development, and football training to over 500 at-risk youth in Michigan, Texas, and Florida.
The Presidential Leadership Foundation – a joint venture between Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush – tabbed Roberts as a Presidential Leadership Scholar in the inaugural class. Roberts has been featured in ESPN the Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Sports Illustrated and is a contributor to Forbes.com. His op-eds have appeared in Fortune, CNN and Time. Roberts serves on the SXSW Sports Advisory Commission and Coca-Cola Foundation Board. He and his wife have five children and reside in Austin, TX.
