With rookie minicamps landing on weekends that also entail graduation activities, some rookies miss the sessions to get their degrees.
In Tampa, the head coach is the one who will be trading the sounds of the practice field for Pomp and Circumstance.
As explained by Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Bowles will walk with the graduating class at Mount St. Mary’s University, where he will receive a degree in youth and community development — 37 years after leaving college.
“Completing my degree was something I had always wanted to do over the years, because it was something I had promised my mother when I went to play in the NFL, and I wanted to follow through on that promise,” Bowles said in September, per Stroud.
“Over the years, as I became a father, it became something I wanted to do in order to set a proper example for my sons as they continue on their educational paths. I have also worked pretty extensively with children through my various community projects, and I felt it was important to show them they can achieve whatever they set their mind to.”
Bowles resumed his studies in 2020, through the Mount St. Mary’s Accelerated and Adult Undergraduate Program.
Many people, such as Bowles, have achieved significant success in life without a college degree. For some, it’s an itch that can only be properly scratched with a gown, a mortarboard, and a tassel that slides from one side to the other.