Any Premiership players with University degrees?

Factual Questions
1

I was watching an MLS game this weekend and the announcer mentioned the high percentage of MLS players with a university degree. Most US players play at a university as part of their development.

But the English system depends a lot more on youth systems that mix some education with intensive instruction in the sport. Most English-born professionals seem to have come up through that type of system.

Are there any current English players who have a University degree?

2

Can’t think of any current Premiership players - in general, they’re so rare that they get nicknames like “the professor” and so on. Ex-player Ian Dowie, now a coach, is a qualified engineer, I think, and back in the 70s/80s there was Steve Heighway (Liverpool) and maybe Steve Coppell (Man Utd)? And ISTR David Weatherall (Sheffield Wednesday?) has a degree, but I can’t remember if he ever played in the Premiership.

3

Thanks Usram. Do you know the circumstances of any of the players you mentioned? Did they decide to put off a playing career until after university?

Alternatively, it seems some of the non-league players have degrees. When I watch the FA Cup early rounds they always mention what the players do for a living and every once in a while there’s an accountant or some other profession that would seem to require an education. So do you know if any of the guys with degrees were playing at a low level without real dreams of Premiership (or old First Division) play and then suddenly exploded on the scene?

4

Although now retired through injusry, Slaven Bilic (West Ham, Everton) has a law degree.
Googling for others…

5

Andy Comyn, with a degree from Birmingham, played with West Brom, Derby, Plymouth and Villa…

6

Tony Galvin, played for Spurs and the Rep of Ireland in the 80s, has a degree in Russian

7

I think that pretty much describes Dowie’s career, although I don’t know about “exploded”… “lumbered clumsily”, perhaps (he was never the most cultured player).

Other than that, I don’t know much about the background of those players, but as I’m sure you appreciate the competition to become a professional footballer is so fierce that most aspiring players devote themselves to that aim from a young age, often signing up with clubs in their early teens. So anybody whose had any kind of university or working career before becoming a player will probably have come from outside that mainstream system, and will be at a disadvantage, which I guess is why accountants generally don’t go much higher than non-league.

8

There are several Americans now playing in the Premiership, I’d bet at least one graduated. I know that Claudio Reyna completed his full four years at UVa (they won three national championships while he was there) and currently plays for Man City. Brad Friedel left UCLA after his junior year to go pro and is now with Blackburn Rovers. Kasey Keller attended the U of Portland and plays for Tottenham, Carlos Bocanegra also attended UCLA and plays for Fulham. I think that there might be one or two more Yanks in the Premiership, but not certain on that (beyond Tim Howard, who did not attend university, as many of the younger stars are now starting to skip straight to the pros).