For all of his life, Toby Keith was one of the Oklahoma Sooners’ biggest fans.
But Toby never actually attended the University of Oklahoma.
The country legend and Oklahoma native played defensive end for his high school football team. But after graduation, instead of going to college, Toby went to work in the oil fields, working his way up to supervisor while also forming a band with his friends to play at local bars when he wasn’t working his job in the oil fields.
But the oil industry eventually started to decline, and Toby found himself out of a job in the 1980s. Rather than deciding to go to college, Toby instead tried out for the Oklahoma Outlaws of the United States Football League.
He didn’t make the USFL team, so he decided to join their semi-pro farm club, the Oklahoma City Drillers. While playing defensive end for the team, he continued to perform with his band before eventually deciding to pursue music with his band, the Easy Money Band, full time.
Eventually Toby moved to Nashville, and the rest as they say is history.
Between the seven Grammy nominations, the numerous CMA and ACM Awards, and now being named a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, there’s not much missing from Toby’s long and impressive resume.
And now, he’ll be able to add a college degree to that resume.
The University of Oklahoma announced that they’ll be posthumously awarding Toby an honorary degree during their graduation ceremony on May 11.
The honor comes after the country singer passed away on February 5th after a 2-year battle with stomach cancer, and is just the latest tribute to Toby Keith from his beloved university.
After Toby passed away, the University of Oklahoma released a statement honoring the life of one of their biggest fans:
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And at the Sooners’ next basketball game, the team left Toby’s seat empty, marked with a guitar and a red Solo cup.
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Then this past weekend for the team’s annual spring game, Oklahoma painted Toby’s name and image on the field in a touching tribute to the ’90s country superstar:
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And now, Toby will finally be a University of Oklahoma alum.
A well-deserved honor for one of Oklahoma’s biggest fans.
