Travis Kelce Receives College Degree While Chugging a Beer: 'Gotta Fight for Your Right to Party!'

Despite having earned degrees from the University of Cincinnati, Travis and Jason Kelce couldn't attend their own commencement ceremonies many years ago due to their careers. But on Thursday night at Fifth Third Arena, UC President Dr. Neville Pinto bestowed diplomas upon both athletes while they hosted their New Heights podcast event live in the stadium. Pinto did so while dressed in a cap and gown. As reported by Page Six, before receiving the memento, Travis chugged a beer on stage while embracing Dr. Pinto. Furthermore, as per Fox 9, Travis told the students, "You gotta fight for your right to party!"

Travis and Jason were congratulated by the university in a joint Instagram post with the caption, "A surprise commencement we’ll never forget. Congratulations to Travis and Jason on (finally) picking up their diplomas!" Although Taylor Swift was absent from the event, Swifties and the parents of the athletes, Donna Kelce and Ed Kelce, celebrated with pride on social media.

Travis was a student at the University of Cincinnati from 2008 to 2012. In 2013, he was selected by the Chiefs in the third round of the NFL Draft. In contrast, Jason attended Cincinnati from 2006 to 2010 before being selected by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Travis completed the last few credit hours required to earn his Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies from the College of Arts and Sciences in 2022. However, to his surprise, he failed to make it on time for the commencement ceremony flight. Jason earned a degree in marketing as his specialty.

Interestingly, at the live performance of her sons, Donna was observed affably distributing sandwiches to attendees, mirroring the gesture made by Scott Swift at the Eras Tour of his daughter in Australia. For context, in February, Scott made headlines when he was observed in Sydney feeding Swifties sandwiches and fruit from a food tray.

During the live podcast recording, the Kelce brothers, who had returned to their native Ohio, invited special guests: Joe Burrow, quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, and Orlando Brown Jr., a former teammate of Travis' on the Kansas City Chiefs. Fifth Third Arena is situated near Nippert Stadium, the original location of the event before weather-related complications arose. Both Travis, 34, and Jason, 36, have a sentimental attachment to the stadium due to their collegiate football experience with the University of Cincinnati (UC) from that era.

Additionally, Travis and Jason have both acknowledged in the past that Swift's loyal following has contributed to the continued prosperity of their New Heights podcast, which debuted in September 2022. As per Page Six, In his acceptance speech following his March 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards victory for Podcast of the Year, Jason stated: "To receive an award like this is beyond humbling, and we would be remiss if we didn’t immediately thank all the 92 percenters out there — aka Swifties — who voted for us to win this award." Travis performed a verse from the Grammy-winning artist Bad Blood on the program in March, and in another episode of the same month, he raved about his experience of witnessing her perform on her Eras Tour in Singapore.