Augustana College and Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson finally walks the stage
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback legend Ken Anderson finally got to attend an Augustana graduation ceremony on Saturday.
While he received his degree from Augustana more than 50 years ago, he never got to walk the stage.
On Saturday, he did.
It wasn't just that he gave this year's commencement speech before 514 class of 2026 graduates at Vibrant Arena at The Mark in Moline. This time, Anderson also got to walk the stage in a fashion as he received an honorary doctorate of humanities.
"In the fall quarter of my senior year, I dropped out of school to do my basic training for the National Guard," Anderson told the crowd of graduates and thousands of their supporters, who filled the entire lower bowl and parts of the upper bowl of the arena.
During his first offseason from the Bengals, he had military training in Fort Polk, Louisiana.
During his second offseason, he returned to Augustana and finished his degree, but still couldn't walk the stage because he was due at a mandatory Bengals minicamp.
But on Saturday, Anderson, Augustana's first Academic All-American, finally made it onto the stage.
His message to the graduates: "You may leave Augustana, Augustana will never leave you."
"Augustana is not just where I went to college," Anderson said. "It's where I learned how to work hard, how to lead, how to deal with adversity and how to handle success."
As they move on to their careers and new places, Anderson told them to remember that "character outlasts achievement."
"You will be remembered for whether you were fair, whether you were honest, showed humility in success and grace in failure," he said.
"Augustana didn't just prepare me for a career," he added. "It helped shape my values. It emphasized service, integrity and responsibility to others."
"True and effective leadership is service," Anderson said. "Leadership is not about being in charge, it's about being accountable to yourself and others."
On the flip side of success, he said, "failure is not a dead end. Failure is feedback."
Anderson said that every setback he had taught him something about preparation and resiliency.
In the first game of the 1981 NFL season, he said, he threw three interceptions in the first quarter and was benched. After doing a lot of soul searching, he told the coaches he wanted to start. That year, the Bengals, with Anderson at quarterback, made it to the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers. He also was named NFL MVP that season.
"No one succeeds alone," Anderson said, adding that every success he had was built on family members, friends and teammates.
"Remember the professors who challenged you, your friends who walked alongside of you," Anderson said. "Mentor someone. Reach back and find the person who reminds you of yourself at that time, uncertain, hopeful and full of potential."
In 2014, Anderson and his wife began the Kenny Anderson Alliance: Community for Adults with Disabilities. Anderson did this as he was concerned about the lack of options for his nephew, Drew, who is severely autistic.
The mission has always been to help those adults with disabilities to develop and sustain lifelong relationships, be independent and gain self-esteem while contributing to their communities. The organization helps up to 300 adults a month.
Before the ceremony, Anderson spoke with Quad-Cities media.
In playing for the Bengals, Anderson got to be coached by Hall of Famers Paul Brown, Bill Walsh and Forrest Greg.
"I always tell people Cincinnati was the perfect spot for me," he said. "The stability of Paul Brown and the innovation of Bill Walsh. They molded me into what they needed me to be. If I had been drafted by somebody less patient, I'd have been cut at training camp, and I would have been back in school by the fall."
Bill Walsh's West Coast Offense began in Cincinnati under the Eighth Street Viaduct, where the practice facility was located, with Anderson at quarterback.
"It was using the whole field, vertically and horizontally," he said. "Walsh timed up the depth of the quarterback drops with the routes of the receivers, and you had your progression to go through, first, second and third reads and an outlet.
"We weren't going to throw interceptions, and we weren't going to have sacks," Anderson said. "Everything was timing and precision."
A big fan of Hungry Hobo sandwiches, Anderson said if NIL had been around in his day, "I'd have had all the Hungry Hobo sandwiches I could eat."
It was a different era of pay in the NFL in those days, too, he said.
"The highest pay I got one year was $350,000," he said. "I played 16 years and if you add them all together, it still wouldn't total $1 million."
His offseason jobs included the Army Reserve and real estate. He also got a law degree and opened a beer distributorship.
Anderson said the NFL had never entered his mind when he arrived at Augustana from Batavia, Illinois. But, he said, Augustana has stayed with him throughout the twists and turns of his life.
"You may leave Augustana, but Augustana will never leave you," Anderson said.
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