The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board held its first meeting of the year with its new board appointees late last month. Among them now is Colt McCoy, a former UT football quarterback and alumnus, who said he wants to help students turn their degrees into real jobs.
“It’s about access and affordability,” McCoy said. “I want to make sure the cost doesn’t block anybody (from) the opportunity to receive higher education.”
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board oversees higher education resource use, collects higher education data and administers grants to Texas universities and research centers across the state. In October, the Board waived college application fees for Texas residents applying to public colleges through ApplyTexas in the state for a week. The Board contains a commissioner and 10 board members appointed by the Governor, according to their website.
To fill the three empty seats on the board, Abbott appointed McCoy, along with Darryl Heath, a past chairman of the Texas A&M College of Engineering Advisory Board, and Ashlie Thomas, a current board member of Victoria College Foundation Impact Team, on Jan. 5. Their terms expire on Aug. 31, 2031.
McCoy said he will use this appointment to ensure Texas students feel supported as they move from student life into the workforce, so they can best prepare for life after college. He said his experiences shifting from football to business will give him perspective on how the Board can help students face transitions.
“Football was my path to be able to go get higher education, and I’ll always be grateful for that,” McCoy said. “But my academic experience at UT was great. It gave me (opportunities). It gave me relationships. It gave me insight into the challenges that students face day to day.”
McCoy said he had conversations with former board members and had people also reach out to him before the appointment. He said this role was important to him because he grew up in a family that focused on education. When asked about future moves into more policy, McCoy said he is focused on serving on this board and gaining insights from the board members’ different experiences.
“Higher education shapes not only our individual lives, but also the long-term economic and civic health of Texas, and I take that responsibility very seriously,” McCoy said.
