Twenty-three years after he arrived from San Antonio, 19 years after he helped his Longhorns to a stunning upset of Nebraska in the inaugural Big 12 championship game, 14 years after he led the NFL in rushing, 13 years after winning the AP Offensive Player of the Year award and eight years after leaving the NFL, Priest Holmes has graduated from the University of Texas.
The obvious question: what in the world was Holmes doing in the eight years between leaving the NFL and earning his degree? Doing philanthropic work in his native San Antonio while serving as the NFLPA’s Alamo City chapter.
As part of his NFLPA duties, Holmes told TexasSports.com, was setting up a quarterly conference that emphasized professional development and the value of earning a college degree. The message sank home with him.
“I got fired up to finish that degree,” he said. “It really motivated me and gave me that passion.”
Holmes spent his Wednesdays and Thursdays driving to and from San Antonio to finish his degree in applied learning and development.
Diploma in hand, Holmes will use his education to enhance his current work with the Priest Holmes Foundation, which works to empower young people."I was taking courses and able to turn around and immediately implement them in our programs,” Holmes said. “That made the transition easier.”