EMMITSBURG, MD (SNN-TV) – Thirty-seven years after he left college to pursue a professional football career, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles has earned a bachelor’s degree.
Last week, he completed the requirements for a bachelor of science in youth and community development from Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland, and attended the university’s commencement ceremony on Saturday.
Bowles began his untraditional adult educational journey in the summer of 2020 prior to the Buccaneers’ eventual Super Bowl championship season at the suggestion of Anthony Agnone, his longtime agent and 1975 Mount Saint Mary’s alumnus. Although Bowles completed his studies online, he has shared advice with Mount St. Mary’s sport management students and middle schoolers in the university’s summer College Experience Camp.
Bowles motivation for pursuing the degree was also fitting, given it was Mother’s Day weekend.
“It’s personal for me. It’s not a limelight type-of deal, it’s about honoring my mother and making sure I kept a promise that I can live with when she says something. I’m showing my kids at the same time, with one in college, one getting ready to go to college and another one on the horizon, hopefully they can get some inspiration from this and it can help them as they go forward.”
Bowles graduated in just enough time ahead of Buccaneers OTA’s beginning next Tuesday, the 23rd. Ironically, while Mount St. Mary’s has 24 NCAA Division I teams, the university does not have a football team.