Alex Kroll is the definition of a scholar-athlete. The 6-foot-3, 228 pound, center played at Yale for one season before leaving to enlist in the Army. Kroll served in the military police for two years, and he then returned to school - this time at Rutgers. In his two seasons with the Scarlet Knights, he helped the team achieve a 25-2 record, including its first undefeated season in 1961. His senior year, Kroll served as captain and was named an All-American by the Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, American Football Coaches Association and the Football Writers Association of America.
Kroll was equally as impressive in the classroom, where he held an “A” average, and he was a member of national honor society Phi Beta Kappa. A Henry Rutgers Scholar, Kroll conducted research, and he wrote a thesis on the application of Einstein’s space-time continuum to the modern American novel.
In 1962, Kroll was drafted in the second round by the New York Titans, playing for one year before leaving to pursue a career in advertising. Kroll started as a copyeditor at Young and Rubicam, one of the world’s largest marketing and communications firms. Kroll quickly moved his way up in the company, becoming worldwide creative director in 1970, CEO in 1985 and chairman in 1986. He finally retired after a long, successful career in 1994. In 1997 Kroll, a member of the National Football Foundation Board of Directors, returned to his love of football by helping create the “Play it Smart” program, which uses football to improve academic performance and community service among high school players.
Kroll has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Walter Camp Distinguished American Award, NCAA Silver Medal for Excellence, American Jewish Committee’s National Human Relations Award and the Horatio Alger Award for outstanding Americans who exemplify dedication, purpose and perseverance in their personal and professional lives. He belongs to two Halls of Fame – the College Football Hall of Fame (class of 1997) and the Advertising Hall of Fame.
