Riley Barnacastle is a 2012 Samford graduate (one of Coach Pat Sullivan’s bulldog football players), currently on assignment as a school teacher with the U. S. Peace Corps in Jamaica.  He says that he lives in an area with “no running water, no garbage pick-up, no air-conditioning, and no mail delivery.”  In a recent note to Coach Sullivan, thanking him and the staff for the personal attention he received at Samford, Riley notes that he uses the universality of participation in athletics as a way to teach lessons to his students:  “respect for rules and laws, penalties and consequences, discipline and desire.” 

 It is for Coach Sullivan, in particular, that Riley offers these heart warming words:  “I can’t say that I would have been at Samford if it wasn’t for you, but I’m glad I can call it my school.  Some of my fondest memories and best friends were made there.  Even through two knee surgeries, it was all worth it and I’d do it again.  I love you, Coach.”

 The world is better because Riley Barnacastle learned his lessons well, now imparting them to students who need his help.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.