FOR USE AS DESIRED
NFL-28             5/17/00

Cincinnati Bengals running back MICHAEL BASNIGHT was the first man in his family to attend college. Now he is the first male in his family to graduate from college.

Basnight is among the many NFL players this spring who – in addition to participating in offseason workouts and minicamps – are completing classroom work for their college degrees with the help of the NFL, which encourages continuing education through NFL Player Programs.

"I dreamed of graduating," said Basnight, who received a bachelor’s degree in art design from North Carolina A&T on May 13. He now plans to pursue a master’s degree. "I’m trying to start a new tradition in my family. The NFL has made me so disciplined, school is easy now."

Other NFL players earning diplomas this spring include Oakland Raiders safety JE’ROD CHERRY, Atlanta Falcons linebacker JEFF KELLY, New England Patriots center LANCE SCOTT, Detroit Lions safety KYWIN SUPERNAW and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver JASON TUCKER.

"There are things I want to do beyond football," says Cherry, who earned his master’s in education from Cal. Now he plans to begin work towards a Ph.D.

Kelly also earned a postgraduate degree with a master’s in juvenile probation from Kansas State. "I know in maybe five years from now it would be a lot harder to go back to school," he says. "I feel like since I am still in the college mode, it was best to go back now and finish my work."

Scott graduated from Utah with a bachelor’s in exercise physiology. "It was a great sense of accomplishment for me to receive my degree," he said. "It had been five years since I finished my playing career at Utah, but I was able to return and complete my class work. I am proud of the fact that I'm the first one in my family since my great-grandfather to receive my college diploma. My whole family was at the ceremony (on May 5) and we were able to experience it together."

Supernaw earned his bachelor’s in outdoor recreation at Indiana. "It has always been a goal to make sure I returned to school to finish my degree," he said. "A college degree is something that cannot be taken away from you, and it’s something I’m proud to have attained. I know playing football won’t last forever. A college degree is something I can fall back on once my playing days are over."

Tucker agrees. "I told myself I would get my degree," he says. "I told my mom I would get my degree (a bachelor’s in psychology from Texas Christian). I’m going to take it and run with it."

Many of the NFL players who earned their college degrees this month did so through the Continuing Education Program of the NFL Player Programs department. This spring, 500 players and player spouses returned to school through the program.

NFL Player Programs was created in 1991 by Commissioner PAUL TAGLIABUE to assist players and their families in their lives off the field. In the past eight offseasons, more than 2,300 players and their wives have returned to college as part of the continuing education program.