More than 40 years after he dazzled Mountaineer basketball fans with his flashy play, Rodney Clark”Hot Rod”Hundley is returning to West Virginia University to get his diploma.
Hundley, the former collegiate and professional basketball player who now broadcasts Utah Jazz games, will be awarded a Regents Bachelors of Arts degree during WVUs 131st Commencement at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, May 14, at Mountaineer Field.
“I am very excited about it,”the Charleston, W.Va., native said.”Ive waited a long time for this. I hope maybe I can serve as a role model for other athletes who left college without receiving a degree.”
The 65-year-old Hundley played for the Mountaineers in the mid-1950s, averaging 24.5 points per game over three seasons and finishing second in career points with 2,180. He captivated fans with his flashy play, which included behind-the-back passes and fancy dribbling.
He was the first pick in the 1957 National Basketball Association draft and played with the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers from 1958-63. He appeared in two NBA All-Star games.
Since retiring from playing basketball, Hundley has been involved in many projects, most notably broadcasting. He has been announcing Jazz games for 26 years and previously was an announcer and analyst for Lakers and Phoenix Suns games. He has also co-authored two autobiographies: The Clown (1970) and Hot Rod Hundley,”Youve Gotta Love It, Baby!”(1998).
He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1992 and became only the third play-by-play announcer to win the NBAs Distinguished Broadcaster Award in 1994.
Hundley was lacking 25-30 hours of course credit toward his bachelors degree in physical education when he left WVU to turn pro. Despite his success as an athlete and broadcaster, he said he has always harbored the desire to finish his degree but never had the time. He then learned about the Regents B.A. program when he returned to Morgantown two years ago to promote his latest book.
“Bill Douglas and Dana Brooks told me about the program when I was here for a book signing, and within a couple of months I started working on it,”he said. Douglas is a professor and former dean of WVUs School of Physical Education; Brooks is the schools current dean.
In its 25th year, the Regents B.A., or RBA , is a bachelors degree program designed to meet the needs of adult and working students. The program is offered at WVU and nine other public higher education institutions in West Virginia. About 200 people are enrolled in the Universitys program, which is administered by the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. More than 2,000 people have graduated from WVU with a Regents B.A.
The RBA program provides a general university education without the requirements of a major. Graduates can either take courses to earn credit hours or submit written portfolios documenting knowledge of specific disciplines through work or life experiences.
Hundley, who lives in Salt Lake City, obtained his RBA by preparing a portfolio showing his competencies in areas such as broadcast journalism, public relations, physical education and speech pathology audiology.
Dr. Douglas, who served as Hundleys adviser, said the portfolio is extensive.
“The Regents B.A. degree is a great degree for people like Rod who have been out of college for a while,”Douglas said.”Rod had done extremely well, and Im elated that I was able to be a little part of helping him get this degree.”
Ann Paterson, WVUs RBA coordinator, said by not giving up on his dream of a college degree, Hundley has become an inspiration to others who left college before graduating.
“It makes people aware of the fact that its never too late to get a college degree or to become a WVU alumnus, if thats their goal,”Dr. Paterson said.
Hundley said he is grateful to WVU for helping him obtain his undergraduate degree after so many years.
“I think the Regents B.A. program is wonderful,”he said.”A lot of schools dont provide this kind of opportunity. It just goes to show you its never too late to go back to college and get your degree.”