The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Reaching destinations
05.23.2005 | Football
The saying goes, "life is a journey and not a destination." For former UT All-America receiver Wane McGarity the journey has taken many twists and turns and covered thousands of miles before bringing him back to where it all started and within striking distance of one of the destinations.
A San Antonio native who miraculously overcame three reconstructive knee surgeries en route to a record-setting senior season at Texas, McGarity has experienced many highlights and life experiences, including the surprising call when he was a fourth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1999 NFL Draft. That day forced McGarity to put one of his life-long goals, a college degree, temporarily on hold.
"After I was done playing at Texas, I just expected to finish school and find a career like everyone else on campus," McGarity explained. "I never expected to have the chance to play professional football, but it was a great opportunity that changed where my life was headed."
From the highs of being drafted and making the Cowboys to the lows of every NFL player's worst nightmare, being waived, McGarity enjoyed four seasons of the NFL. After two and a half years in Dallas, where he caught 38 passes for 365 yards and returned a pair of punts for TDs, McGarity was waived by his home state team before quickly being signed by the New Orleans Saints.
"That was an ordeal, being cut and then going to New Orleans. I didn't really have a chance to do much," McGarity recalled. "I had to learn a new system halfway through the season, and I was also still getting over and trying to understand why I had been cut by Dallas. That was a tough thing to deal with."
After finishing out the 2001 campaign with the Saints, he spent most of the next season just pondering where his life was headed. He didn't go on any workouts and was trying to figure out what to do next. Then, football came calling again. This time from a place that McGarity would have never imagined, the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.
"The CFL was a whole new World to me," McGarity said. "I didn't know much about the league, but when I got up there, it was a lot of fun. It's a bigger field that gives a receiver a whole lot of room to work. It also was a different culture with different people. That was a great opportunity, living in another country and seeing everything there." McGarity enjoyed great success with the Stampeders for three seasons and the team encouraged him to stay. But, throughout his six-year professional football career he always felt something was missing and it was time to seek that out.
"I still have the competitive edge and drive, but football hasn't given me all the things I thought it would," McGarity said. "I respect the game and all that it has done for me and I learned a lot from the experiences. It just was time to move ahead in my life."
McGarity wasn't sure what to do next. Then, while talking with his girlfriend, her suggestion was exactly what he wanted and needed. "She said, 'Why don't you go back to school? You've been talking about it. Why don't you do it?'" McGarity recalls. "I just thought to myself, she's right. I have been putting this off for six years. So as soon as the season was over, I drove right to campus and talked to Brian Davis."
Brian Davis, Texas football's Assistant Athletics Director for Academic Services, has seen many former players come into his office with the goal of coming back to school to finish their degrees. When McGarity first stepped into Davis' office after being away for six years, he was a bit skeptical.
"I knew Wane was still playing football, so when he first stepped into my office I needed to know what his intentions were," said Davis.
After talking things over, Davis was convinced that McGarity was at the right point to commit all of his attention towards finishing his degree.
"It is important that these guys have decided that they really want to go back to school. When they make up their minds, they are very positive and they work very hard. My experience has been that these guys become even better students, they go after it and they do really well," Davis explained.
McGarity began taking classes again in January and is only a semester away from completing his degree in kinesiology and sport management. Over the course of the semester, he has realized that finishing his education was more important than he first realized.
"To have a degree from The University of Texas, one of the best schools in the World, is something special," McGarity explained. "That piece of paper means a lot and it shows a lot. In high school, my goal was to go to college and get a degree. Over time, I lost track of that goal. I didn't come back and do the things that I needed to do. I put it off for all those years. Now I realize what I always knew, that your degree is the most important thing and that when you earn it, that's something that no one ever take away from you. It's a huge accomplishment."
While McGarity still has the desire to play football, he realizes that an athletic career can only last so long. He now understands the opportunities a degree provides can spawn a life-long, fulfilling career. And more than that, it is about finishing something and receiving the beloved T-Ring. The T-Ring holds a special place in UT Athletics. The ring is only bestowed upon lettermen who graduate, representing achievement in both academic and athletics.
"That T-Ring is so important to University of Texas athletes, and the first thing they do (when they earn their degree) is run to their coach's office to get their ring," Davis said.
Wane McGarity has made many of his dreams come true. He earned high school and college All-America honors. He made a living and produced a collection of highlights playing professionally in the NFL and CFL. Now, he's closing in on achieving the ultimate goal he has been chasing since high school - a college degree and a T-ring.
It's been a long journey with many destinations, but McGarity is happy to be back on the path to one of his most important goals.
