Bill Royce (born July 14, 1971) is an American former

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player. He is currently a sales executive for Astec Industries Materials Solutions Group. While at Northmor High School, Royce had top eight finishes during the 1989

Ohio High School Athletic Association The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for junior and senior high schools in the state of Ohio. The OHSAA governs eligibility of student athletes, resolves disputes, organizes levels of comp ...

championship. At

Ashland College Ashland University is a private university in Ashland, Ohio, United States. The university consists of a main campus and several off-campus centers throughout central and northern Ohio. Ashland was founded in 1878 as Ashland College. It is affi ...

, Royce was fourth at the shot put held during the 1992

NCAA Division II men's indoor track and field championships The NCAA Division II women's indoor track and field championships are contested at an annual meet organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate indoor track ...

. With the

Ashland Eagles The Ashland Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Ashland University, located in Ashland, Ohio, in Division II intercollegiate sports of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Eagles are members of the Great Midwest Ath ...

football team, he was a Player of the Year for the

Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference The Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (MIFC) was a football-only NCAA Division II conference active for nine seasons in the 1990s. The creation of the MIFC was announced in February 1989. The conference play began in September 1990. Th ...

and nominated for the

Harlon Hill Trophy The Harlon Hill Trophy is an award in American college football given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. The award is named for former University of North Alabama and National Football League player Harl ...

twice. Royce's 71 sacks became a career record the school and the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

. Outside of football, Royce began his

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the propert ...

career with Eagle Crusher during 2002. He held executive positions with the company before joining KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens in 2011. Royce continued to work in sales there throughout the 2010s before joining Astec. Royce joined the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

during 2016.

Early life

Royce was born on July 14, 1971, in

Mount Gilead, Ohio Mount Gilead is a village in and the county seat of Morrow County, Ohio, United States. It is located northeast of Columbus. The population was 3,503 at the 2020 census. It is the center of population of Ohio. The village was established in 1 ...

. During the late 1980s, he was nicknamed "Rolls" while on the football team for Northmor High School. With the team, Royce was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

and

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. Royce was an All-Mid Ohio Conference player during 1986. He also was on "the 1988 United Press International Division V all-Ohio football team." That year, he received a

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. A person who ...

. Overall, Royce accumulated 2839 yards. With the Lexington Lions All-Stars, Royce played in the 1989 McDonald's Football Classic. Outside of football, he participated in athletics while at Northmour. As a Class A athlete, he entered the

championship in 1989. At the event, he had top eight finishes in the

shotput The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival (1896), and women's competition bega ...

and discus.

College career

With a scholarship, Royce signed to

in 1989. While with the

throughout the early 1990s, Royce was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

before becoming a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. From 1991 to 1993, Royce consecutively had the most season sacks for the school. During this time period, Royce set season records in sacks for the

multiple times. He injured his ACL during the 1994 Snow Bowl. That year, he underwent rehabilitation and surgery for his knee injury. After his time at Ashland, Royce set the

career sacks record with 71 sacks. His sacks remained a career record at Ashland during 2023. As an athlete, he " onthe 19-to-24 year-old discus event" at the 1991 Ohio Sports Festival. The following year, He was fourth in shot put at the

. Outside of sports, Royce studied

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

at Ashland.

Post-football career

Royce had worked "in the finance, banking and insurance industries" before joining Eagle Crusher in 2002. During his

career, he became Territory Sales Manager the following year. During 2010, he was the company's president. In 2011, Royce was in sales with KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens. Throughout the 2010s, he worked there as a regional sales manager. By 2020, he joined Astec Industries Materials Solutions Group at

Summerlin, Nevada Summerlin is a master-planned mixed-use development mostly within the city limits of Las Vegas, Nevada. The development covers of the western edge of incorporated Las Vegas sitting at the center-west end of the Las Vegas Valley. Downtown Summ ...

. With Astec, he continued his regional executive career during 2023.

Awards and honors

In 1991, Royce was named an All-MIFC player and won the Best Defensive Back for Ashland. While being re-selected as an All-MIFC player, he won the Player of the Year award once and the Defensive Lineman of the Year award twice leading up to 1993. Royce was nominated twice for the

. Royce was on ''The Associated Press''

Little All-America team The Little All-America team is an honor given annually in the United States to the best small-college players at their respective positions. The first Little All-America team for college football, selected with assistance from reporters in ever ...

during 1992 and 1993. In athletics, he was an All-American during 1992. He was inducted into the Ashland University Hall of Fame in 2005 and the

in 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royce, Bill 1971 births Living people Ashland Eagles football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees American technology executives Players of American football from Ohio American football defensive ends People from Mount Gilead, Ohio