A fixture on the sidelines of University of Miami football games throughout most of this season, Michael Irvin imbued team pride, cheering passionately whenever his beloved Hurricanes pulled off a seemingly impossible come-from-behind victory and congratulating the team’s wide receivers for their spectacular catches and touchdown grabs.
Hurricanes players and coaches never regarded his spirited displays as a distraction but as a sign of the brotherhood that embodies Hurricanes football.
On Thursday, Irvin, the legendary Miami wideout and NFL Hall of Famer whose penchant for making big plays earned him the nickname “The Playmaker,” brought that same infectious enthusiasm to the University’s Watsco Center, imparting knowledge and wisdom to about 550 students at the institution’s fall undergraduate degree ceremony for all schools and colleges.
In the second ceremony—dedicated to about 470 candidates for doctoral, law, and master's degrees from all schools and colleges—University alumna Alina T. Hudak, a lifelong public servant who was the first woman to serve as Miami-Dade County’s manager and is now president and CEO of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Miami Host Committee, told the students to stay connected to the U community and never compromise their values in whatever path they take.
“Success built on integrity is enduring and fulfilling,” she said. “Make ethical choices, be honest in your dealings, and treat others with authenticity and respect.”
Check out more:
View photos and video from both commencement ceremonies
Students talk about their joy and future dreams
Irvin finished his collegiate career with 143 receptions, 2,423 receiving yards, and 26 touchdowns and played his entire 12-year NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, where he was reunited with former Hurricanes coach Jimmy Johnson and helped the franchise win three Super Bowls.
“Life is always about steps and stairs,” said Irvin, who earned a degree in business management and achieved All-America honors while helping the U earn its second football national championship. “You must do what you need to do to master those steps on one level, and as soon as you get them mastered, you’ve got to take the steps to the next level and do it all over again.”
Relating anecdotes of people who greatly influenced his life, Irvin recounted his journey from his grade school and middle school years to his time at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale to the classrooms and playing fields of the University of Miami, then onto to the NFL’s storied Dallas Cowboys franchise.
Irvin explained that it was a high school teacher, Ms. Jones, who was like a second mother to him, helping him prepare for the academic rigors of a new school so that he could resume a promising athletics career.
“I made a decision to transfer [from Piper High School in Sunrise] to St. Thomas Aquinas, a college prep school, to improve my education for college,” Irvin recalled. But he was devastated and cried when it was ruled that he would not be able to play sports for a full year.
But Ms. Jones consoled him, telling him that the two would use that year of ineligibility to bolster his studies. “We spent every day together studying and putting my plans together,” Irvin told graduates. “We were planning this destination.
“I know she is in heaven right now, hopefully sitting with my mother and father,” he continued. “I just want to speak to her again one last time to say, ‘Thank you for believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself.’”
Irvin called the U’s newest graduates his “sisters and brothers” and told them they should similarly thank the family members, teachers, and coaches who influenced their lives, urging them to stand and applaud their role models. “These people I have always called the miracles of our journeys,” he said.
In his address, which he titled “The Power of U,” Irvin, employing football terminology, gave graduates what he called “field goals of U and an extra point for you.”
“All of you are here on assignment. You are unique,” Irvin said. “When you’re unique, you have a calling inside of you. You are destiny bound. And that difference determines the success you will have in life. I don’t care what field you choose to go into, it’s how you make yourself feel before you go into that field that will determine your success.”
Irvin appealed to students to set their goals to win each day. “You can have a CEO mentality working in the mail room,” he said. His extra point for graduates: “Every breath you take, every decision you make, every step you take, all of the family goes with you. Now go and do great things in this world.”
He described the University as a “great cocoon of life.”
“We all crawled in here like caterpillars, but we’re flying out of here like beautiful butterflies because the U has [instilled] in you what you need to make a difference in this world,” Irvin said.
In the second ceremony, Hudak, a double Cane who recently concluded a 27-year trailblazing career in local government, addressed the graduates.
“Never compromise your values,” said Hudak, adding that the graduates should be ethical, honest, and embrace integrity. “This will not only enhance your reputation but also attract opportunities that align with your principles.”
Hudak’s own professional experience taught her that “choosing your moral compass over the expedient, political solution” is by no means the easy choice and may sometimes end your tenure.
Yet her distinguished reputation, earned over four decades of public service—which included serving as the first woman to run a large operational department; the first Hispanic woman appointed assistant Miami-Dade County manager; the first woman to serve as county manager; and the first woman to run the City of Miami Beach—is a testament to her conviction.
Hudak celebrated the students’ perseverance and hard work to earn their degrees and reminded them that their education and skills extend beyond the classroom.
“It is much more about understanding the complexities of our society to advocate for justice by using your voice and knowledge to effectuate change,” Hudak said.
In her address, Hudak recounted her own humble beginnings—the daughter of Cuban refugee parents, she grew up close to the University yet never dreamed that she might attend. And yet she did.
“I symbolically represent each and every one of you. Whether you decided to go to graduate school or law school right after your undergrad studies like I did, or you choose to start your profession and pursue your degree later in life, like my husband did, it doesn’t matter today,” Hudak said. “You chose to be here. You worked hard, aspired to be at a higher educational level, sacrificed, and you want to do great things. Forty years ago, I was you!”
From her own experience, Hudak emphasized the value of pursuing knowledge to keep pace in today’s rapidly changing world.
“Continue learning. Commit to being a lifelong student, whether through formal education, reading, real-world experiences, or professional development,” Hudak said. “The more you learn, the better equipped you are to seize opportunities and overcome obstacles.”
She noted that her biggest frustration in leaving her most recent position as Miami Beach City manager was that she was not better versed in navigating technologies.
“I had people who did that for me. Yet I can assure you, I am taking care of that—I will not be left behind,” Hudak said.
Hudak credited her graduate school advisor Jonathan West and her M.P.A. program with setting her on the course that led her to become such an esteemed administrator, highly praised for her crisis management skills, and to serve in her newest role as president and CEO of the FIFA World Cup Host Committee.
“Success in not achieved in isolation. Nobody accomplishes anything alone,” Hudak said. “In every experience and every moment of my career, from leading emergency responses during catastrophic hurricanes or responding to criminal activity on the streets, leadership meant building a team that was willing to stand with me.”
Hudak made many acquaintances and friends while at the University who later became professional colleagues and part of a valuable network of support.
“Your University of Miami community is extremely powerful. Cultivate meaningful relationships and network with others. Collaborate, share ideas, support one another, and stay in touch,” she said.
Hudak encouraged the new graduates to continue the same principled commitments that allowed them to earn their degrees.
“The simplicity of committing yourself to leave here today and work hard, treat people with fairness and kindness, be a leader, remember who you represent, be loyal, hungry always for knowledge, and be willing to take risks,” Hudak said.
