John Skipper had plans to write the next great American novel having grown up an avid reader of renowned authors Thomas Wolfe and Williams Faulker. Instead, the English literature major ended up directing stories as the president of ESPN.
Being open to new paths allowed Skipper to ascend to one of the most influential platforms in media and that was a part of the message he shared during his commencement speech for the 700 graduates from UCF's College of Business Administration Saturday morning.
Skipper was awarded an honorary doctorate — his first — from UCF for his work with the DeVos Sport Business Management program, which includes establishing an exclusive ESPN executive-in-residence initiative for the program.