AUBURN, Ala. — After the voters gave them the power to expand the Auburn Board of Trustees, the Alabama Senate approved two new members, including former Auburn Football player Quentin Riggins. The Thursday confirmation added Riggins, 41-year U.S. Army veteran Lloyd Austin, and CEO Raymond Harbert of Harbert Management Corp. in Birmingham as at-large members. All three men are graduates of Auburn University.

A graduate of Montgomery’s Robert E. High School, Riggins played Linebacker for the Auburn Tigers from 1986 to 1989. He twice earned All-SEC honors and Second Team All-American status while leading the Tigers to three straight SEC Championships form 1987-1989. Decades later, he was honored with induction into the SEC Legends Class of 2009.

After a brief stint in the Canadian Football League, he turned his talents towards business and lobbying. Riggins currently works as the Senior Vice President for Governmental and Corporate Affairs for the Alabama Power Company and has since 2011. In that role, he has led the largest governmental affairs shop in the state.

He has worked for governors on both sides of the aisle, and he served as a cabinet member in the Riley administration. He also worked for Democratic Speaker of the House Seth Hammet and later ran the governmental affairs operation at the Business Council of Alabama before briefly launching his own firm.

His significant work has earned him a spot on Yellowhammer‘s Power and Influence List numerous times. In 2015, former Yellowhammer CEO Cliff Sims wrote:

“The Power Company’s business is so vast there is hardly an issue before the Legislature that does not impact them in some way. It’s a big job, but Riggins has virtually unlimited resources and personnel at his disposal…From sports to politics to business, Riggins is another power player with an extensive reach.”