The Balance

While individually McKinley’s academic and athletic successes are more than notable, the most impressive aspect of his time at Trinity was how he managed to balance the student-athlete lifestyle, while also traveling for major tournaments across the world. While at Trinity, McKinley would constantly be out of town (or the country) for ‘professional’ tournaments. Because there was no official professional tour, these tournaments kept the collegiate player’s amateur statuses in tact and offered no cash reward making his participation legal through the NCAA. This meant that McKinley could be in class and practices during the week, then across the nation on the weekend.

While it may seem as if Trinity would have discouraged this, that was not the case. In fact, Bob McKinley shared that the university’s president, James Lory, encouraged McKinley to travel because of the positive light that shone on Trinity through McKinley’s success. This was a two-way street however, Bob McKinley made sure to mention. Part of what McKinley loved so much about Trinity was their ability to work individually with him in order to achieve the success he imagined. Bob McKinley and Butch Newman both said that McKinley was extremely proactive in talking with professors and other individuals at the university in order to be sure he was not to fall behind. McKinley would even study on the road, his younger brother shared. However, while this was a sacrifice, it was one McKinley needed to make to achieve what he wanted to do. This sacrifice is one that is difficult for any athlete to fathom. It is difficult to miss just one class, or one day of classes in a week. Bob McKinley mentioned that his brother would miss multiple days, if not a full week, for some tournaments. With his high GPA, it is amazing that McKinley was able to do what he did, and still perform intellectually as well.