SPRINGFIELD — Springfield High School’s football coach fulfilled a promise he made to his mother.
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Head Coach Maurice Douglass Sr. received his bachelor’s degree Friday at the University of Kentucky, the school district announced.
He completed his degree 37 years after leaving school early for the NFL Draft. He did it just shy of his 60th birthday.
Douglass said when he left college to go to the NFL, he promised his mother that he would eventually earn his degree and wanted to keep that promise.
“Coach Douglass’ story should be a message of inspiration, especially for student-athletes, about the importance of finishing what you start,” said Dr. Bob Hill, Springfield City School District Superintendent. “It’s about so much more than the classes you take or the reports you write, it’s the doors that a college degree can open for you when the game is finally over.”
Douglass has served as Springfield’s head football coach since 2014.
He has guided the Wildcats to the Division I state finals for the last three years.