AUBURN, Ala. – An academic expedition that began in the fall of 1995 ended 26 years later when Tim Hudson graduated from Auburn University on Dec. 11.
"I'm as proud of this as I am anything I accomplished in baseball," said Hudson, the 1997 SEC Player of the Year who won 222 Major League Baseball games and a World Series ring in 2014.
"Baseball was my comfort zone," said Hudson, Auburn's pitching coach. "That was what I knew I was gifted with, to play baseball."
Following retirement after the 2015 season, the Hudsons – Tim, his wife, Kim, and their three children, have lived in Auburn year-round. Kim, a partner at an Auburn law firm, had long encouraged Tim to complete his degree.
"It would have been easy to lay it down and not come back and just ride off into retirement," he said. "It's something that was really important to me.
"I didn't realize it was going to take 20-plus years. I should probably be a rocket scientist by now as much time as it's taken me. It's taken a while to get under my belt, but a lot of motivation and encouragement from my family helped."
1997 SEC Player of the Year Tim Hudson
When Hudson resumed his academic journey in 2019 after pitching 17 seasons in the big leagues, his goal was to graduate from Auburn before his oldest daughter, Kennedie, an incoming freshman that fall who's now a junior.
Mission accomplished.
"Barely," Hudson said, chuckling that he was tempted to delay graduation a few more semesters so he and Kennedie could graduate together. "The closer she got to graduating, the more I thought about it. I'm glad we're done and I'm proud of it."
Hudson's last requirement was an internship at The Exceptional Foundation, working with people with special needs.
"A great way to finish," Hudson said. "Spending time over there was the highlight of my day."
Tim Hudson, Class of 2021, earned his Auburn University degree in interdisciplinary studies with emphases on health promotion and philanthropy studies.
"It's never too late," he said. "If you have that as a goal, regardless of where your career takes you, there's always time to come back. It does a lot for you personally knowing that you've accomplished something to be proud of. I'm the first college graduate of my family. It's something I'm proud of and I know my family is as well.
"Auburn's been great to me over the years, and very helpful in trying to come back. I know for a lot of folks trying to come back after being out for so many years, it's difficult and can be kind of intimidating. They made it as easy as they could for me. A lot of encouragement there."
Tim Hudson, Auburn University Class of 2021
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer