Steve Kreider: The Game Changer

Lehigh University Photograph Collection
Steve Kreider with Outstanding Player Trophy in 1978.

The Lehigh-Lafayette Rivalry Week is upon us again. We were flipping through past issues of the Brown and White, and decided to spotlight a year where Lehigh was victorious over the Leopards (surprise, surprise.) In the 1978 rivalry game, the 113th to be played, Lehigh triumphed, 35-17.
Lehigh trailed Lafayette until the third quarter of the game, but then had a 21-point burst.  Who is especially interesting is the game-changer we found.  His name is Steve Kreider.  He’s cited as a major player in the game.  Upon further research, we discovered that Steve Kreider may just be one of the most well-rounded people alive.
Kreider had a stellar college football career.  He was named an All-American Wide Receiver by the Associated Press in 1977.  That year, he helped the Lehigh Engineers snatch the Division II national championship.  He had 72 catches, 1,567 yards, and 19 touchdowns (we don’t know much about football, but we assume this is all very good). His academics weren’t shabby either- he was a Rhodes Scholar candidate.
Kreider would go onto further success in the National Football League.  After his senior year of college, he was drafted to the Cincinnati Bengals. He served as a wide-receiver for the team for seven years.  He even played in the Super Bowl game against the 49er’s.
He dedicated himself to his studies in his spare time away from football. Though he was an exceptional electrical engineering student at Lehigh, he went on to graduate school for business (a bold jump from engineering).  He studied at the University of Cincinnati and received his MBA and doctorate in finance from there.
Now, what is Steve Kreider up to?  He’s was Chief Investment Officer of Legg Mason Inc.’s Western Asset Management and was hired in 2014 to be Chief Investment Officer of Western & Southern Financial Group Inc.
So, essentially, Steve Kreider may be one of the most impressive people you’ll ever hear about.

Brown and White Vol. 90 no. 23: Kreider eyes his football future: pro career beyond the horizon?
Brown and White Vol. 91 no. 17: Ex-QB Kreider makes it big
“Ex-Bengal Kreider to Run Western & Southern’s $46 Billion” on Bloomberg

Leave a Reply

Skip to toolbar