Bucs head coach Todd Bowles receives bachelor's degree 37 years after leaving to pursue NFL career

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Thirty-seven years after leaving college early to play in the NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles is officially a college graduate.

Bowles earned his bachelor of science degree in youth and community through the Center for Accelerated and Adult Education at Mount St. Mary's University, according to the team.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles watches action on the field during Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp Aug. 9, 2022, at the AdventHealth Training Center at One Buccaneer Place in Tampa, Fla. (Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"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 a statement. 

"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."

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Head coach Todd Bowles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers answers questions at a press conference after 2022 Buccaneers minicamp at AdventHealth Training Center June 9, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

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Bowles was a cornerback for Temple University, playing under eventual coaching colleague Bruce Arians. He went undrafted in 1986 but spent seven seasons in the league, six of them with Washington.

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