PITTSBURGH — It's been a long time coming, but Steelers legend Jerome Bettis has graduated from Notre Dame.
The team's Hall of Fame running back announced Thursday that he had earned his degree from the university's Mendoza School of Business after returning to campus this past semester to complete course work he'd started there decades ago.
Bettis was a few classes short of graduation when he declared for the NFL draft as a junior back in 1992.
He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams the following year, then went on to rush for 13,662 yards for the Rams and Steelers before retiring in 2006, after he'd helped lead the Steelers to a Super Bowl victory over Seattle.
But when he left school early, he'd made a promise to his mother to finish his Notre Dame degree eventually.
"In my immediate family, I'll be the first person to graduate from college," he told NBC's Today Show earlier this year. "But most importantly, I have two children. For them to see dad finish a commitment that he set out some 27 years ago, for me to complete that, I think it says a lot to them."
Now he's fulfilled his promise and finally completed a decorated Notre Dame career that started with 1,912 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns across three seasons on the football field for the Fighting Irish.
