Hall of Fame
Tim Lester played four seasons (1988-91) for coach Roy Kidd’s EKU football Colonels, playing both fullback and tailback positions. He came to Eastern in 1987 but was forced to miss that season with an injury. As a freshman in 1988, he was recognized on the first-team All-OVC team after finishing second in the conference in rushing to teammate Elroy Harris with 1,239 yards rushing which was the 10th best total in I-AA football that year. He was also recognized as OVC Rookie of the Week five times that season. As a sophomore in 1989, he played but two games following another injury, after entering the season as the top ranked runningback in Division I-AA by The Sporting News. He returned to form as a junior in 1990 and rushed for 1,047 yards which included totaling the most rushing yards in a single game in I-AA football that season when he ran for 291 yards versus Tennessee Tech. He finished that season with the second highest rushing total in the OVC and the 17th best in the nation. As a senior, Lester was again chosen first-team All-OVC as he finished fourth in the OVC with 1,204 yards, while scoring 17 touchdowns which tied for the OVC lead in scoring. He finished his career with 3,640 yards rushing, sixth all-time on the Eastern history list, and scored 37 touchdowns. While at Eastern, the Colonels compiled a 42-8 record, won three conference titles and advanced to the semifinals of the I-AA playoffs twice. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, he was taken in the 10th round of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams and played his first three seasons in the NFL with that franchise. In 1995-98 he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and competed in Super Bowl 30 in 1995 against the Dallas Cowboys. He closed his pro career in 1999 with the Cowboys. Seven of Lester’s eight years of playing pro football were highlighted by opening the holes for All-Pro runningback Jerome “The Bus” Bettis. Upon completion of his pro football career, he started a non-profit organization called Pigskin Academy which mentors, tutors, prepares and trains at-risk athletes to be successful on and off the field. Lester has gone into the ministry and resides in the Atlanta, GA, area. He and his wife Natalie have four children: Edward, T.J. and twins Tristan and Toni Rae.
