Career
Roth began his collegiate career as an athlete at the University of Pittsburgh where he walked-on the football team earning a full athletic scholarship as a wide receiver. He then began a coaching career on the staff of Pete Carroll at University of Southern California. After graduating magna cum laude and earning his master’s degree in communication management from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, he rose through the coaching ranks, where he would become University of Southern California’s assistant Quarterbacks Coach. After four years on the University of Southern California coaching staff he transitioned to media, where he began a career as a college football analyst and host for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, Fox and the Pac-12 Networks.
After pitching and producing his first documentary for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, 3 FOR THE SHOW, which chronicled Jake Locker, Cam Newton and Tyron Taylor’s final season on the college gridiron and subsequent transition into the NFL, Roth became hooked on storytelling.
He co-wrote the book, WIN FOREVER (2010) with Pete Carroll, which reached #7 on the New York Times best-seller list, as well as his own book, FROM Pennsylvania TO Los Angeles (2010). In 2011, he continued to hone his storytelling craft as a producer on DEPTH CHART, an Entertainment and Sports Programming Network series that followed the Miami Hurricanes and their quarterbacks during training camp.
Yogi also hosted and produced the ELITE 11 documentary series for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network from 2009-2014 (which was nominated for an Emmy ® in 2013), and in 2015, directed DEAR FOOTBALL: THE 2015 ELITE 11 STORY, which followed the top high school quarterbacks in the nation while sharing their stories on and off the field He currently serves as a producer and narrator on the Pac-12 Network’s groundbreaking series THE DRIVE, which follows a football program intimately throughout a season.
The series has followed Cal-Berkeley, Arizona State, University of California, Los Angeles and in 2015, will feature Oregon State and Utah.
LIFE Indiana A WALK follows Roth and his father, Will, on their trek along the Camino De Santiago, a famous pilgrimage through Portugal and Spain, where he listens to, learns from and discovers more about his hero than he ever imagined. An expert traveler, Roth has traveled to over 20 countries exploring the power of sport in each society—dropping into each community without a plan while gathering content. In 2014, he sailed around Cape Horn, South America, filming the documentary titled, THE CAPE, which is in post-production and scheduled for release in 2017.
Additionally, through his newly formed production company – Life Without Limits – Yogi strives to make movies that highlight great stories and provokes audiences to give back to their community through the power of human connection, exploration and discovery.
The multi-faceted Roth has been an on-air correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, is a regular on the speaking circuit for corporate, collegiate and high school events (in 2013, he presented his first TEDx Talk, titled ‘Love Wins’). Roth is also a seasoned actor in film and on television, appearing on Comedy Central, multiple national commercials and in various independent films.
Roth resides in Venice Beach, California.
