Tim McGraw Has an Honorary Doctorate Despite Never Graduating From College
Country music legend Tim McGraw is known for a lot of things. From belting out hit songs like “It’s Your Love,” “Just to See You Smile,” and “Live Like You Were Dying” to featuring on both the big and small-screen around the world, Tim McGraw is a multi-talented country music icon.
However, what fans may not know about the country music singer is that he actually holds the title of “Doctor.” Read on to learn more about how Tim McGraw received this title despite never actually graduating from college.
From country singer to actor to doctor, Tim McGraw does it all
One thing that Tim McGraw is not is a one-trick pony. While the 55-year-old rose to prominence as a country singer in the 1990s, McGraw has taken his career well beyond the realm of the Nashville country music scene.
According to IMDb, McGraw began dabbling in acting during the last ’90s. However, it wasn’t until 2006 that McGraw landed his first lead role in the film Flicka. In 2009, McGraw secured another lead film role, starring alongside Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side.
Most recently, McGraw has starred in Yellowstone spinoff 1883 as James Dutton, alongside his wife and fellow country singer Faith Hill. Along with his singing and acting credentials, it turns out that McGraw actually has achieved the title of doctor as well.
Country singer Tim McGraw becomes a doctor
During an interview on the Bobby Bones Show, McGraw discussed how he was gifted the title of doctor. In 2001, the University of Louisiana-Monroe awarded McGraw with an honorary doctorate degree in humanities.
The host asked McGraw if he ever jokingly signs things as “Dr. McGraw.” The country singer chuckled before saying, “No, I wouldn’t dare do that.” The hosts of the show continued to razz McGraw about his honorary doctorate.
McGraw acknowledged during the interview that it’s kind of silly he was awarded the degree as he didn’t put any work into it or even graduate from undergrad. However, McGraw did acknowledge that he is very honored and grateful to the University for honoring him for his work outside of the classroom.
Where did Tim McGraw go to college?
While McGraw never officially graduated from college, he did attend both the University of Louisiana-Monroe and Florida Community College at Jacksonville. According to Biography, after graduating high school as salutatorian in 1985, McGraw headed off to the University of Louisiana-Monroe on a baseball scholarship.
McGraw was following in the footsteps of his father, Tug McGraw, who was an MLB pitcher. During his time at the University, McGraw also joined a fraternity, pledging the Eta Omicron Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha. Unfortunately for young McGraw, he sustained a knee injury while playing baseball which robbed him of any future in professional sports.
After getting injured and no longer being able to play baseball, McGraw dropped out of the University. He then moved to Florida to be closer to his mother. While in Florida, McGraw attended Florida Community College at Jacksonville for one semester. However, McGraw was already more interested in the local band scene and playing his guitar.
After McGraw’s country music hero Keith Whitley died in 1989, he made the bold decision to drop out of college and make a move to Nashville to pursue music full-time. While country music was never his original plan, everything seemed to fall right into place for Tim McGraw in the end.
