Each Monday of the fall semester, we’ll be bringing you “Getting to Know Them” profiles on coaches, athletic administrators and athletic trainers at Slippery Rock to introduce you to the folks behind the scenes here at The Rock. Next up, we check in with associate athletic director Torry Rollins. 

QUICK BIO
Rollins joined the Athletic Department staff at Slippery Rock in April of 2011. In his role as associate athletic director, Rollins serves as the primary business manager for the Athletic Department and is the top assistant to the athletic director. Prior to coming to The Rock, Rollins served four years as an assistant athletic director for business affairs at Missouri State University. Rollins is a 1992 graduate of Edinboro University with a degree in accounting. He was a member of the Fighting Scots basketball team as an undergraduate student and later served as a graduate assistant coach while he worked on his master’s degree in communication. Rollins capped his education by earning his MBA from Cleveland State University in 2002. 

IN HIS WORDS

Q: What was the first concert you went to?
A: My first concert was a hip-hop concert. I think it was the summer of 1987 – The Def Jam Tour. I remember LL Cool J and Big Daddy Kane were there. But I remember this most because my favorite group was there, EPMD (Erick and Parrish Making Dollars). Not only was it a nice concert, the venue was awesome! There wasn’t a bad seat in the house. The concert was held at The Front Row Theater, which had this nice mystique because the stage rotated around in a circle. I remember getting up and walking around socializing and came to the area were all the artists came out to go on stage. I waited for EPMD to come out so I could see them up close and personal – LOL. That next year in 1988 our high school senior class had our graduation at The Front Row Theater! 

Q: What’s your favorite meal?
A: Chicken Wings – Fried, grilled, baked…In that order.

Q: What meal/dish/item are you best at cooking?
A: I think I can cook! I cook for my family. It brings me joy when they praise me for my cooking! I like to cook a breakfast menu. Fun Fact – I learned to cook from my father (believe it or not!). His mother owned her own catering business when I was little. He learned from her and I learned from him! I enjoy grilling the most. I recently mastered the fried turkey. This Thanksgiving will be my third time doing it! I’m excited about that!

Q: Tell us about your family.
A: I have a GREAT family (like anyone would say they have a BAD one!  LOL).  My lovely wife of 21 years is named Anne. I have a son named Devon and a daughter named Dominique. My HEARTS are my two grandsons – Zachariah and Evan!  Zachariah (my daughter’s son) just turned eight and Evan (my son’s son) will turn two in January. They both have my heart! Most of you have seen Zach around during SRU football and/or basketball games. He’s a staple at SRU. He’s starting to play sports now. He made his 7U travel baseball team this past summer.  Baseball was the only sport that continued through the pandemic. He was going to try football this season, but the season was canceled. He has made his third-grade basketball team. I pray they can complete a season. 

Q: What’s your all-time favorite movie? You can give us a few if you can’t pick just one.
A: The Bad Boys trilogy. The Rocky series including the Creed movies. I love anything with Denzel Washington in it, including Training Day and Fences (shot in Pittsburgh). At one time I thought I was going to be a stand-up comedian, so I admire all those great stand-up comedians that transitioned into film. So, some of my all-time favorite movies include Eddie Murphy (Harlem Nights, LIFE, Boomerang, and Coming To America (I heard they are making a sequel!). I also like Will Smith (Focus, Seven Pounds, Hitch, Ali), Angela Bassett (Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Grove Back, Meet The Browns, Notorious, Black Panther), Bruce Willis (Die Hard series and Red 1&2) and Mark Wahlberg (The Italian Job, Four Brothers, 2 Guns).

Q: What’s your favorite season?
A: I LOVE spring because my birthday is in spring time – April 21st.

Q: When you go grocery shopping, are you the “Make a List” person or the “Just Wing It” person?
A: Just Wing It. I learned that from my father too! I go down every isle, every time! Before I go however, I check and see what we need and take a mental note. 

Q: Do you listen to podcasts? If so, what’s on your list?
A: Not consistently. I just started listening to the “All The Smoke” podcast. The hosts are two retired NBA players (Matt Barnes & Stephen Jackson). A former SRU men’s basketball player turned me on to this podcast. His brother helps produce it. They talk about historical, personal and current situations and experiences. Every one I’ve heard has been interesting in its own unique way.

Q: What was your first job?
A: My first job was working at Po’ Folks “Seafood, Chicken and So Forth.”  It was a chain restaurant that started in the southern states. It was April of 1985, I just turned 15 and needed to have a work permit to work.  At that time, “minors” with a work permit were only permitted to work 20 hours a week. I made $3.25 an hour. I got a 25 cent raise every summer and the last summer I worked I made $3.75 an hour. LOL. I started out as a dish washer, but later became known as the “biscuit man!” I made biscuits every Saturday and Sunday. In 1988 the chain filed for bankruptcy and closed. A business branch of Wendy’s bought Po’ Folks and now about 10-12 restaurants are open mostly in Florida and one in Alabama. 

Q: Who is your hero?
A: My Father. It’s interesting, because growing up I was always a mamma’s boy. But when I turned 18 something changed and our relationship grew and became strong! He would always say, “I can show you better than I can tell you!” I learned through his actions and not his words. He was a “Jack of all Trades and a Master of Few.” I just watched and observed! He taught vocational classes (Wood & Metal Shop) in the Cleveland Public School District. He also was part-owner of a barber shop that was a staple in the community. He would go to the shop after school. He did both for 35+ years. He showed me how to love the women in my life! The last ten years of my mother’s life, she battled cancer. The last few years were very rough. My dad took care of my mother! It was a sad but beautiful sight to see. My mom passed in 2006 and right after she passed, he started taking care of my grandmother (his mom). That’s one of the biggest and powerful things I’ve learned from watching my father, my hero!

Q: What recent shows have you binge-watched?
A: These are all shows I’ve binged watched (on Netflix) since the pandemic kicked into gear in March. I started with All-American (about a high school football player who moves from Compton to Beverly Hills). Then I moved on to Queen of The South (a young lady from Mexico becomes a drug lord in the South). The last series I binged on Netflix was Greenleaf (story of a family that has a Mega Church as their family business). Now I am just waiting for new episodes of All-American and Queen of The South.  I believe Greenleaf is done.

Q: What TV game show do you think you could go on and win?
A: Family Feud. My mother and I loved this game show! The original host, Richard Dawson, would kiss all the female contestants. Mom said if we ever went on the show, she would slap Richard in the face if he tried to kiss her! It was fun going back and forth with her about who we would pick to join us!

Q: What type and how many pets do you have?
A: We just got a dog in July. She is a Boxer and her name is Cleopatra B. Jones. She is four months old now. We had a Chocolate Lab before Cleo. Her name was CoCo B. Jones. She passed in 2015.

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