HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kevin Lockett has had success following his run as a wide receiver first at Kansas State and then in the NFL. He told his story as the speaker of the Dillon Lecture Series on Tuesday.
Lockett says he was lucky to be brought up in a positive environment and had many good people around him while in high school.
“I think I had some very influential high school coaches and teachers and counselors,” Lockett said. “I went to what I would consider a pretty prestigious high school in Oklahoma, and it just followed up with my decision to end up in Manhattan.”
Lockett, who became one of the all time greats at K-State, says that his decision to come to Manhattan centered on one moment while on a recruiting trip to Missouri.
“I’m 17 years old across from Bob Stuhl and he’s talking to me very generally,” Lockett said. “He looks down at a folder and he comes back and says “So, Kevin”. I was 17 and I was a little brash and I said “You didn’t know who I was, did you?” It totally caught him off guard.”
Today, Lockett is a partner and chief financial officer at Fulcrum Global Capital, a venture capital fund focused on investments in the agriculture and animal health sectors.
“We mainly invest in agriculture opportunities and so, being in Kansas, it makes a lot of sense,” Lockett said. “A lot of what we’re working on today are innovations that can come to the market that make sense, that can be done on a global scale.”
Lockett also had some very pointed words regarding the current status of college sports and paid athletes. While he says college athletes should be paid, the way it’s being handled is not a good thing for potential high school athletes.
“People say the purpose of going to college is to get an education. It is, but it’s also to get out and make money,” Lockett said. “I’m probably more frustrated with the NCAA than anyone else because I think they sort of shoved the issue under the rug too long. By the time they spoke out about it, it was too late. You had states that were making their own laws about what NIL was and who could get paid…and by the time they stepped in, it was too late.”
Along with his investment firm, Lockett is also a Kauffman Fellow and is responsible for the fund administration as well as identifying, evaluating, financing, and managing innovative food production, food safety, and food waste investment opportunities.
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