Excelling behind the scenes
NEW YORK — Troy Witt's passion for sports was not exclusive to the playing field.
Just 23 years old, he is already making a name for himself off of it.
The 2012 Seneca Valley High graduate is the manager of strategic partnership development for Roc Nation Sports, a business that aims to elevate an athlete's career on a global scale both on and off the field. This includes marketing and endorsement deals, community outreach, charity work, media relations and brand strategy.
Witt, who graduated from Carnegie Mellon University last spring, has been employed at Roc Nation Sports since September and was recently selected to Front Office Sports' Rising 25.
Nominations are received from around the country, then narrowed down to 25 honorees who, according to the Front Office Sports website, are “extremely talented and accomplished rising stars who are responsible for significant achievements and success in the sports business while still in school or during the first few years of their professional career.”
“It's very cool to be selected by the judges,” said Witt, who lives in Hoboken, N.J. “I don't know who nominated me, but I feel like this is my standard now. I'm a year removed from school and I wake up every day and come to New York City to work. I'm never lacking for motivation.”
Among its clientele, Roc Nation Sports currently works with Yoenis Cespedes, Kevin Durant, Dez Bryant and Robinson Cano, among others.
Witt, a Cranberry Township native, earned three varsity letters while playing football at Seneca Valley. He was a running back at Carnegie Mellon for three years and it was while he was a student-athlete there that he realized what career path he wanted to take.
“I wasn't 100 percent sure on what I wanted to do when I got to college,” he said. “I majored in business and interned with the Detroit Pistons in the summer of 2014. After about a week there is when I knew that I wanted to be involved in sports behind the scenes.
“I also interned with the Pittsburgh Pirates (summer of 2015). Those experiences provided the clarity with how I wanted to start my career. They also helped me start building up my network.”
It paid off in a big way. After working for the Miami Dolphins for four months following his college graduation, a former employee with the Pistons offered Witt the position with Roc Nation Sports.
“It was an opportunity I couldn't turn down,” said Witt. “I'm really appreciative of my job right now.”
While Witt is on a fast track to what appears to be a long and rewarding career, he doesn't plan on forgetting his roots.
“Growing up near Pittsburgh, it was always about faith, family and football for me,” he said. “This is my dream job.”
