Scott Roberts, Stillwater, Okla., received the Distinguished Alumni Award Thursday evening, May 2, during the annual Alumni and Friends Picnic hosted by the Missouri State University-West Plains office of university advancement.

The award recognizes an alumnus who has made extraordinary achievements in his/her personal and professional endeavors and has shown notable success in his/her profession or business, loyalty to the university and outstanding contributions to society.

Originally from Carthage, Roberts was a member of the Grizzly Basketball team and graduated from MSU-WP with an Associate of Arts in General Studies degree in 1996.

He completed a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education with an Emphasis in Recreation Administration and a minor in Business at College of the Ozarks in 1999 and a Master of Public Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in 2013.

After playing basketball professionally overseas, Roberts returned to the states and served as program director for the Pittsburg (Kan.) Family YMCA for two years then as district executive of the Ozark Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America in Springfield for two years before joining Pittsburg State University as the director of major gifts for the Colleges of Business and Technology.

In 2007, he was named the director of university development at Pittsburg State, a position that ultimately led to similar positions at UNLV, the University of Connecticut Foundation and the Oklahoma State University Foundation, where he currently serves as the vice president of development.

In 2012, he returned to MSU-WP to give the keynote address at commencement and returned again this past January to celebrate 30 years of Grizzly Athletics.