Robert "Spider" Gaines believes in the NCAA degree-completion program so much that he wishes he could run it. Gaines, a recent graduate of the University of Washington, owes his success in part to the program, and he supports changes to it that ultimately will allow more people like him to finish school.

Earlier this fall, the NCAA committee that administers the degree-completion program agreed to restructure the awards to benefit more people. And in January, Division I will consider legislation that allows schools to match the award with institutional aid.

Gaines hopes both will help a program that certainly has helped him.

In the 1970s, Gaines was a star wide receiver for the Huskies football team and a hurdler for the school’s track and field team. Gaines still holds Washington’s record for the 110-meter hurdles. After his junior year, he left school to try his luck in the National Football League, but injuries stopped his career before it ever got started. He played in the Canadian Football League for a while, but it wasn’t the same level of success he had anticipated he would enjoy in the NFL.

Gaines said he got involved with alcohol and drugs when he didn’t know where else to turn. He spent years drinking and using drugs before a string of events, including his daughter’s graduation from high school, made him re-evaluate his situation.

"I finally told myself I had to get my life together," he said. "I wanted to complete something, finish something. The first thing I wanted to start with was school. I wanted to go back and get my degree."

The realization that he had had a unique educational opportunity as a student-athlete struck him, and he began to take steps to change the course of his life.

After working a third-shift job and taking a few classes at a community college beginning in the spring of 2005, Gaines needed only 30 hours to graduate. With the support of athletics administrators at Washington, Gaines applied for the NCAA grant. In his personal statement, Gaines talked about his struggles with addiction, his hard work in a rehabilitation program, and his desire to finish his degree to prove to his college-age daughter that an education is important.

"I believe it is never too late to pursue your goals, despite great obstacles, with a helping hand," Gaines wrote. "I want to be an example for other former athletes who may have lost sight of their hopes and dreams."

Now that he has completed his degree, Gaines’ goal is to spread the message that if he can come back to school and get his degree, others can. He wants to teach student-athletes to make a plan beyond professional sports, in case that wish doesn’t come true or isn’t fulfilling.

"I dropped out of school and came back after 30 years," he said. "People get lost and their dreams get taken away. You need to get an education."

Gaines was one of 33 current and former Washington football players celebrating their graduation in June this year — albeit the furthest removed from his playing days and at 48, the elder statesman of the group. Fellow former wide receiver Mario Bailey came the closest, though he finished his career with the Huskies in 1991.

Now hoping to help former and current student-athletes fulfill their educational potential, Gaines is a huge proponent of the program that changed his life.

As one of the program’s biggest advocates, he hopes it receives more publicity for its good works.

"We need people out there going to different colleges to get the word out," he said. "We need people to understand that if they want to come back to school, they can get their degree."