John Harbaugh ’84, New York Giants head coach and member of the Cradle of Coaches, to address Miami University graduates
Spring commencement will be held on May 16
John Harbaugh ’84, New York Giants head coach and member of the Cradle of Coaches, to address Miami University graduates
Spring commencement will be held on May 16
John Harbaugh ’84, head coach of the New York Giants and member of the prestigious Cradle of Coaches, will give the keynote address at Miami University’s Spring Commencement at 10:30 a.m. on May 16 in Yager Stadium.
“It’s a great honor to be Miami’s commencement speaker,” Harbaugh said. “I just have so much respect for Miami, for the administration, for the university, for everything it stands for, for everything it did for me.”
Harbaugh played defensive back at Miami, where he won the Football Scholar-Athlete Award and graduated with a degree in Political Science.
He was the Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. They won Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 against the San Francisco 49ers, and he was inducted into the Cradle of Coaches Association in 2014.
Harbaugh was head coach of the Ravens for 18 seasons, from 2008 until January 2026, when he was later hired as the Giants’ head coach.
He previously served as special teams coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1998 to 2007 before moving to defensive backs coach for his final season in 2007.
Harbaugh recently recalled feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment at his own commencement from Miami.
“I felt a sense of accomplishment because I felt like I was at a great place, and I felt like I learned a lot. I felt like I grew up a lot,” he said.
Harbaugh described college as “probably the most formative years in one’s life,” a transformative time for many students, including himself.
“Miami was my place. Miami is always my place because that's the place where I grew the most, changed the most, was challenged the most, made the best friends of my life,” he said.
He enjoyed playing football at Miami and liked being a part of something bigger than himself.
Asked what lessons he took from his time at Miami that helped him throughout his NFL career, Harbaugh said, “I learned the value of friendships, learned the value of relationships, learned the value of great teachers, great coaches. But probably more than anything, what I think I learned at Miami was just the value of persistence.”
Looking back, Harbaugh believes his academic career went better than his athletic career, “and I worked really hard at both.” He learned at Miami that the value was in the hard work. “It was in showing up every day, trying to do your best every day.”
Harbaugh, who has a statue in the Cradle of Coaches Plaza at Yager Stadium, said he is excited about the new Cradle of Coaches documentary, planned for release in August. He will be featured in the film along with other Miami coaching legends.
“I am fired up about the Cradle of Coaches documentary; can't wait to see it. Can't wait to see all my pals and my buddies and the people I've admired, to all the greats that have gone through Miami,” Harbaugh said.
To him, it’s the greatest tradition. “The Cradle, that’s special,” he said.