That’s Dr. Riley Green to you.

This past week, Riley was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree from his alma mater, Jacksonville State University, and he was named a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, at JSU’s Spring Commencement ceremony on Thursday, April 30th.

He received the degree for his many music career accomplishments, in addition to the support he gives to his hometown, and he was also the keynote speaker at the graduation of the College of Education and Professional Studies.

Riley was the starting QB at Jacksonville State University from 2007 to 2009 after walking on. During that time, he started getting into playing music more, and ultimately, decided to try his hand at a music career. Riley once remembered a game his grandaddy was at where he took a big hit from a defensive end, which caused him to do “three cartwheels,” which also led his grandpa to “give somebody hell” on the other end of the field for I guess not throwing a flag on the play due to how hard Riley was hit.

Riley went on to say that, after coming to that one game, his grandpa encouraged him to “start messin’ around with that guitar a little more,” which is southern for “This whole football thing is probably not going to work out and you should be exploring other options,” in case you need a translation.

And during an interview with The Next Round during the the Regions Tradition Pro-Am golf tournament a coupe years ago, Riley admitted that he never even “came close” to graduating, and lasted maybe a semester or two after he started playing in local bars around Jacksonville.

He also told the hosts that he passed one class his very last semester… which was aqua aerobics, one of those dumb electives they force you to take:

“I didn’t get close to graduating… I started playing in bars like, 2011, just quit going to close. I think I hung in there for another semester or two. My last semester, I passed aqua aerobics, the only thing I passed.”

And of course, that’s really funny and makes me wonder what the other classes were, but my mind first went to wondering what it would be like to be in aqua aerobics class with Riley Green? A girl can dream, but I digress…

Riley also explained that his academics were never really a focus of his, and before he started doing music, he was “majoring in football,” and even though he never officially graduated from JSU, he learned the value of hard work during his time there, and talked a lot about that in his speech, sharing some great advice with the graduates that he learned from his grandaddy and has served him well over the years:

“So my advice to the 2026 graduating class is grab the heavy end. Whatever you’re doing, whatever it is that you find that you’re good at-and you will find something—don’t let it get away. Chase it.”

Riley was robed by members of the Jax State Board of Trustees, and of course, some of the girls in attendance brought the jokes:

I mean, fair enough…

Riley spoke a lot about the value of hard work, and how even though there might be more talented people than him out there chasing dreams in Music City, he was never going to let anyone outwork him, and that has paid off in so many ways.

From his time working construction and building houses, to now as an award-winning country artist, those values that shaped him in Jacksonville have carried him through life and helped him find massive success.

Congratulations to all of the new JSU graduates, and you can watch the full commencement speech below. He did a great job: