Sports reporter Alisa Gardner talks this week with Richard Jones, an academic counselor for athletic academic services at The University of Memphis. Jones has been with The University since 1977.
AG: What personal satisfaction do you get from helping athletes?
RJ: I get satisfaction in helping young men and women become productive. The same joy they get out of participating in sports, I get from seeing them succeed.
AG: I have heard that a lot of people call you Daddy Rich, what‘s the story behind the name?
RJ: In 1978, I was the assistant director of the University Center and lot of students would come there to hang out. They would always say that I walked around like I was somebody’s daddy, and I guess from then on, everyone started calling me Daddy Rich.
AG: If you could do anything other than what you are doing right now, what would that be?
RJ: I would probably want to be a high school principal.
AG: What student you’ve come in contact with has touched you the most?
RJ: There are just so many students that have touched me, especially those who have gone on to achieve professional goals and have come back to finish their educations. The students are really what keep me going.
AG: What is something interesting about you that you would like people to know?
RJ: Not many people know that I am a great cook. I am notorious for making sweet potato pies.
AG: Who was your biggest inspiration?
RJ: Benjamin Hooks, because he is stressed manhood, scholarship, and perseverance.
AG: What do you have to say about the myth that athletes don’t really do any school work?
RJ: There are so many students that are successful. Take Elliot Perry or John McLaughlin for example. Even Michael Stone an Idrees Bashir are back in school to finish their degrees. So athletes do have to work hard and they do have to do their school work.
