Brandon Spikes, a two-time national champion and NFL veteran, added another monumental achievement to his record last year: a University of Florida bachelor’s degree in anthropology, earned through UF Online.
But his road to graduation wasn’t easy. Spikes balanced responsibilities as a single father, a business manager, a mentor to young athletes and a student assistant with the Gator football program. He applied hard work and dedication — values he honed during his football career — to achieve the academic goal he set years ago.
Building champions in the classroom, UF Online helps student-athletes thrive
It’s still surreal, being able to achieve that goal I set out so long ago,” Spikes said. “It was more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined.”
Athletes like Spikes are no strangers to discipline and perseverance — qualities that also drive success in higher education. And UF Online — with its flexible, high-quality degree programs — empowers current and former athletes to achieve their academic goals without putting their sports careers on hold.
Whether they are training, traveling or transitioning to life after competition, student-athletes can rely on UF Online to provide the support and structure they need to reach the finish line and earn their bachelor’s degrees.
Balancing academics and athletics
Paul Higgerson, a UF Online academic advisor in the College of Health and Human Performance’s Department of Sport Management, has worked with many student-athletes and understands the challenges they face when balancing academics and athletics.
“UF Online’s convenient online format provides the opportunity to complete their degrees in any location,” Higgerson said. “This is very helpful to current and former athletes, as they might be required to physically be outside of Gainesville to meet their responsibilities outside of the academic classroom.”
Recent data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, highlights the increasing academic success of Division I athletes, with graduation rates rising more than 20% in the past two decades. And the NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate for Division I athletes last year had increased to 90%.
Despite these improvements, many athletes still face challenges when juggling rigorous training schedules with coursework, sometimes delaying their degrees as they pursue professional athletic careers or compete internationally. UF Online’s flexible format allows these student-athletes to continue their training and competition while making steady progress toward their degrees.
Gator greats return to complete their degrees online
For many former Gator athletes like Spikes, UF Online was their road back to the university they once played and competed for as students.
Fred Taylor, a Gator Football legend who went on to have a storied NFL career, returned to UF to complete his sociology degree online in 2024 — 26 years after he left for the league. After promising his grandmother he would finish his college degree shortly before her passing, Taylor was determined to graduate.
“I wasn’t a thousand percent sure that I wanted to finish, but always in the back of my mind, I knew I had promised my grandmother that I would get it done,” Taylor said.
Keiwan Ratliff, another former Gator Football star and NFL player, also turned to UF Online to complete his bachelor’s degree. After starting his college journey in 1999, he left UF to pursue a professional football career when the Cincinnati Bengals selected him in the 2004 NFL Draft.
Following an eight-year career in the league, Ratliff knew he wanted to return to the Gator Nation to finish what he started. As a working professional balancing family life, he found that UF Online’s flexibility allowed him to return to school and focus on academics in a way he hadn’t before. In 2018, nearly two decades after he first enrolled, Ratliff graduated with a degree in sociology.
Professional athletes compete as UF Online students
Christian Taylor, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in track and field, found UF Online’s asynchronous courses key to continuing his education while competing at the highest level. The triple jump Olympic and world champion earned his bachelor’s degree in sport management and achieved his academic dreams while living overseas most of the year.
“UF Online was an absolute blessing,” Taylor said. “I would not have been able to finish my degree without it. UF Online has been life-changing.”
Athletes like Taylor find UF Online’s Sport Management program a natural fit for building a career in the sports industry. The program’s curriculum blends business, athlete development, coaching and analytics, providing a solid foundation for life after competition.
“The coursework often aligns with the interests and career goals of current and former athletes,” Higgerson said. “Sport Management faculty are leaders in their field of research and have numerous industry connections.”
Professional tennis player Allie Kiick proved that pursuing new academic interests while maintaining an active athletic career was possible by earning a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and cell science with a minor in pathogenesis in Fall 2022.
“As I got older, it was the competitiveness in me that wanted to be the best in every class I took,” Kiick said. “It’s extremely difficult because, in tennis, we travel internationally. Without flexibility, I wouldn’t be able to go to school at all. There were times when I’d get behind, but at the end of the day, the most important thing was making sure I practiced time management.”
UF Online also supports athletes who excel in the performing arts. Julia Bellantoni, a current UF Online criminology student who is pursuing a professional ballet career in Europe, believes the accessibility of online education is vital for athletes preparing for their post-athletic careers.
“I knew that I needed the flexibility of an online university in order to continue to pursue the high level of training required of my level of ballet,” Bellantoni said. “The fact that I would be able to do that at a rigorous and prestigious university made the decision very easy. I knew that the program would be comprehensive and that I would be getting an education capable of propelling me to a career outside of ballet once my onstage career is over.”
Crossing the finish line with UF Online
From Olympians to professional baseball players, many athletes have turned to UF Online to advance their education while continuing to excel in their athletic careers. Spikes said UF Online’s extensive student resources and support have made it possible for him and others to achieve their academic goals off the field.
“The online platform was second to none,” Spikes said. “I’m really grateful for that.”
He hopes his story inspires other athletes who may be hesitant to return to school.
Earning a degree through UF Online is more than just an academic achievement; it strengthens the lifelong bond that athletes have with the Gator Nation. For Spikes, the journey deepened his ties to the university.
“I think I’m more of a Gator now than I ever was,” Spikes said.
Explore UF Online
UF Online provides an unparalleled education to determined individuals – wherever life takes them. We remove obstacles, so our students can break through. And those who have what it takes to complete one of our fully online four-year programs earn the same University of Florida degree as their counterparts on campus.