05/14/2026
Thank you to Megan Roth and the Roth family for honoring Carl's memory!
Carl Roth Memorial Scholarship Endowment
Carl was a standout football player at Valle Catholic High School, excelling as both a center and a linebacker. A tri-captain of the 1984 squad, he earned first-team all-conference and Class 2A all-district honors in both his junior and senior seasons. He capped his career with Class 2A all-state recognition at center and the program’s “Mr. Football” award, an honor that reflected not just his ability, but his character. He took immense pride in the Warriors, and as a contributor to the first three of Valle Catholic’s fifteen state championships, he helped lay the foundation for one of Missouri’s most decorated high school football programs.
Carl went on to play at the University of Kansas and, after transferring, at the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri University of Science & Technology), where he was a four-year letterman and two-year starter at inside linebacker. He then served twenty-eight years on the Pittsburg State University coaching staff, highlighted by a 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship and three national runner-up finishes. At the time of his death, he was an assistant football coach and substitute teacher at St. Mary’s-Colgan High School in Pittsburg, Kansas.
A rare two-way starter in high school and a natural leader, Carl carried himself with a singular focus and quiet confidence that set the standard for everyone around him, leading by example on the gridiron and in the fieldhouse, the weight room, and the classroom. He elevated the performance of his teammates simply by the way he approached every down, every rep, and every day. He played every game like it was his last, every block thrown and every tackle made with an unrelenting ferocity, and he brought that same intensity to practice, never letting up, never going through the motions.
This scholarship honors a student-athlete who carries that same spirit forward: the unflinching accountability, relentless determination, and genuine care for others that defined Carl as a player and as a person, long after the final whistle.