For this week’s Tiger of the Week, meet Robby Ballentine ‘26, a wide receiver captain for the DePauw football team from Crown Point, Indiana.
Every year, the National Football Foundation awards the William V. Campbell Trophy to the top college football players across all NCAA divisions who demonstrate excellence in academics, leadership, and on-field performance, and it is often referred to as the “Academic Heisman.” For the 2025 season, Ballentine was nominated as a finalist for the award, maintaining a 3.92 GPA in pursuit of a biochemistry degree. Robby credits his parents for always keeping him active and engaged in both academics and athletics. “My parents, from a young age, put an extreme emphasis on school by getting straight A’s and doing my homework”, he said in an interview. “And at the same time, I’ve been playing sports since I was in diapers.”
Before Robby was catching passes from his brother, Scott Ballentine ‘28, he grew up wanting to be a basketball player. He was inspired by his grandfather, who was a captain for the 1964 Michigan basketball team, but as he progressed through high school, Robby transitioned into playing football during his junior year alongside his brother, who had just entered high school. Robby gives credit to his brother for wanting to play football, “I wanted to be on the team with him. I joined the team and fell in love with the game, and never looked back.”
Having your own little brother throw touchdown passes to you throughout your high school and college career creates a special bond between Robby and Scott that can never be broken. Robby recalls hot summers when he and his brother would play ball. “Every day we would go to the field, run routes, and he’s throwing me passes. We really found that football has made us a lot closer”.
For Robby, before heading onto the field, mental preparation is key. In the locker room, Robby likes to listen to various sorts of music, like rock, rap, but his favorite genre is country. During walkouts, the team likes to play the spooky version of Rocky Top played at Neyland Stadium in Tennessee, which gets Robby into the right mindset for gameday. After games and practice, he likes to unwind and listen to music, binge-watch TV shows, and play "EA Sports College Football." Recently, he’s been watching "Franklin & Bash," a legal comedy-drama on Netflix. Being a fan of the Michigan Wolverines, Robby’s favorite professional athlete growing up was Tom Brady.
Robby says that his biggest influence in his athletic life is his father, who would always push him and his siblings to always do better in every aspect of life. “I wouldn’t be the person I am today, so I really owe it all to him. My mom, too, just by loving and supporting me”.
After graduation, Robby hopes to see if he can keep playing football, but is also interested in possibly applying to graduate school if football doesn’t work out. But before he graduates, he looks forward to beating Wabash a fourth and final time.
