Matt Ganyard is a first-year kicker for the University of Virginia football team. Ganyard may be a first-year, but he completed undergrad and received a degree…in 2011. 

Matt Ganyard is 34 years old and is just starting off his college football career. Ganyard did try out for the Cavaliers in 2009 but did not end up making the roster. After graduating, Ganyard decided to join the Marines as a helicopter pilot. Though he had been cut from the football team, Ganyard didn't give up on his dream, even after graduating college.

Even while on deployment, Ganyard kept his love of soccer and football alive. Ganyard said to the San Diego Union-Tribune, “I brought a football, and kicked anytime we were in port. There were a couple of opportunities, once in Thailand and once in Jordan where I met some Jordanian soldiers. We kicked the football and soccer balls.”

The last time Ganyard was in undergraduate classes at UVA, some of his teammates were 6 or 7 years old. Ganyard now has a wife and kids, but that doesn't stop him from competing with 18-year-olds. 

In the NCAA, athletes have five years to complete four seasons of their sport. Ganyard used four of those years while in undergrad, but his eligibility is not fully used up. He enrolled in graduate school at UVA in 2022 and applied for a hardship waiver so that he could compete on the football team, but the NCAA denied his application. In 2023, Ganyard tried again, and days before the season started, his hardship waiver was accepted. 

Matt Ganyard should be an inspiration to everyone out there who thinks they are too old for competitive sports. You are only too old if you say you are!

Image Credit: @MattGanyard/Twitter