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NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal is going back to college, not for another degree, but to share insights about financial literacy.
Credit One Bank announced on September 2 that O’Neal will headline its new “Credit Tip Off Tour,” a four-stop college tour built around credit education. Beginning September 14 at Southern Methodist University, “Credit Professor Shaq” will visit campuses in Texas, Georgia, Louisiana and Florida for conversations about credit and to share other financial lessons he learned throughout his career on and off the court. The event will also include games and a DJ Diesel set, but the message underneath the entertainment is serious.
“I’m doing this because this is personal for me,” O’Neal told me in an interview. “When I was young, I had to learn the hard way.” Now, he’s going back to school to help students learn those lessons earlier.
Learning The Hard Way
O’Neal was already a millionaire before he understood how credit works. As the No. 1 overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, he entered the league with a seven-figure contract. He was also earning money from endorsements. But that wealth didn’t automatically come with financial literacy.
“Nobody sat me down, explained credit,” O’Neal told me. “I first heard the word ‘credit score’ when I tried to buy my first house.”
O’Neal remembers thinking his income should have settled the matter. The lender knew his contract. He had the money. Instead, he was told his credit score was “a little low.” O’Neal’s response: “Excuse me, ‘What is a credit score?’”
O’Neal had also developed habits without understanding what affects a credit score. “Nobody told me that canceling your old credit cards just because you’re not using them may actually shorten your credit history, which could actually hurt your credit score.”
Of course, O’Neal eventually learned about those things. But he wishes someone had taught him earlier. “I have kids now, and I have kids that look up to me,” he said. “I don’t want them figuring out the slow way like I did.”
Why Financial Literacy Matters
Financial education has gained significant ground in U.S. schools. The Council for Economic Education’s 2026 Survey of the States reports that 39 states now require some personal finance coursework for high school graduation, up from just 12 states in 2022.
But many of today’s college students entered high school before those improvements. And they are entering adulthood in a time when credit is already part of everyday life.
For example, Federal Reserve data released in May 2026 show that 65% of adults ages 18 to 29 had a credit card in 2025, with 46% of those carrying a balance at least once during the previous year. Newer forms of borrowing add another layer. The same Fed report says that 22% of young adults used buy now, pay later services in 2025, and nearly a third of them paid late. The Fed also found widespread confusion about how these products interact with credit: among BNPL users of all ages, only 14% correctly answered both survey questions about whether the products build credit histories and scores.
These are not abstract concepts when you’re trying to rent an apartment, finance a car or qualify for a mortgage. Credit scores can influence whether you receive a loan and the interest rate or terms you’re offered.
O’Neal’s first-house story is an unusually high-income example of a very ordinary problem. You can earn money without knowing the financial system around you.
Classroom Vs Experience
Few athletes have made education a larger part of their public identity. O’Neal told me he’s actually back in school, studying criminology. He has also pursued advanced degrees in business and other fields.
So I asked him directly how much of his financial success came from what he learned in classrooms. O’Neal’s answer was more complicated than a defense of formal education.
He said his father was a drill sergeant who trained him not to make the same mistake twice. When something goes wrong, O’Neal’s response is to learn from it and educate himself before trying again.
“My success is all about failure,” he said. “And the reason why I keep going back to school is I have to continue to educate myself.”
So he got advanced degrees in Business to understand deals and to show he’s really in charge and not just relying on a team of lawyers and accountants. Most recently, O’Neal earned a Master’s in Liberal Arts with a focus on an interdisciplinary approach to mentorship for athletes. “I want to become a professional mentor for someone in a position like me,” he explained.
When I pressed him again about formal education versus experience, O’Neal said it’s not a yes-or-no answer. School teaches a little bit and sometimes a lot, depending on the professor. “But I think the school-of-hard-knocks is really the way to become an expert at whatever field you’re in,” he added.
That may seem an unusual message for someone who keeps getting degrees and is about to tour colleges as “Professor Shaq”. But these ideas don’t necessarily conflict.
Formal education can give you principles. Experience tests them. Failure exposes what you still don’t understand. Then education, whether through a classroom, an expert, a book or somewhere else, helps close the gap. O’Neal himself has moved back and forth between these two.
Some Lessons Shouldn’t Require A Mistake
There’s value in learning through failure. Plenty of professional skills are difficult to master without doing the work, getting something wrong, learning and adjusting from it. But financial literacy may need a different approach.
You don’t need to miss a payment to understand why on-time payments matter. You shouldn’t have to damage your score before learning how credit utilization works. You don’t need to reach the mortgage desk to discover that your credit history can affect the cost of borrowing.
While people don’t always need a degree or formal education to succeed in life, financial literacy should be emphasized in schools and made part of graduation requirements. It should be part of daily life. It’s a life skill that, hopefully, you shouldn’t learn through experience and failure.
For O’Neal, financial literacy is something he picked up after the money arrived. Now he’s sharing his insights so that the next generation can learn them before the hard lesson comes first.