Billie Jean King graduates from college 65 years after enrolling
Long before Billie Jean King won dozens of Grand Slam tennis titles, founded the Women’s Tennis Assn., became part owner of the Dodgers and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she enrolled in what was then called Los Angeles State College.
Three years later in 1964, King left without a degree to devote full attention to her burgeoning tennis career.
Failing to earn the degree bothered her, and King would correct anyone who said she had graduated.
“I said, ‘Don’t ever say ‘graduated.’ I haven’t earned it — yet,’” she said.
“Yet” became a reality Monday when King, 82, received her bachelor’s degree in history from the same school she attended more than 60 years ago — now called Cal State Los Angeles — walking across the Shrine Auditorium stage with the rest of the Class of 2026.
King also served as a commencement speaker, telling the roughly 6,000 fellow graduates, “It is a privilege for me to be here.
“Yeah, baby, only 61 years!”
King mentioned that “like many of you,” no one in her immediate family had graduated from college.
She noted that her lifelong fight against discrimination began when she realized at age 12 that nearly everyone at tennis clubs was white.
“I asked myself, ‘Where is everybody else?’” King said. “From that day forward, I committed my life to equality and inclusion for all. Tennis is a global sport and it became my platform, but equality was my dream — to make the world a better place.”
“We can never understand inclusion unless we’ve been excluded.”
Known then as Billie Jean Moffitt, she chose Los Angeles State because tennis coach Scotty Deeds trained men and women together. She soon became an international star, winning a Wimbledon doubles championship at 18 with Karen Hantze, who was only 17.
She married her college sweetheart Larry King in 1965 and they divorced in 1987. Afterward, King and Ilana Kloss, an accomplished tennis player in her own right, were a couple for decades before marrying in 2018 in a secret ceremony in the apartment of former New York City Mayor David Dinkins.
“You’re finding your truth, and it doesn’t have to stay the same,” King told People magazine at the time. “I only liked guys when I was young. I didn’t think about girls. And then all of a sudden I’m like, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?’ My truth was changing over time. It took me forever.”
King became a trailblazer for LGBTQ+ and women’s civil rights and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 in part for her advocacy for equality. King and Kloss co-founded the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative to promote inclusive workplaces and gender equality.
Shortly after they married, King and Kloss became part owners of the Dodgers and the Sparks, acquiring undisclosed minority stakes in the franchises through an invitation from controlling owner Mark Walter.
“We believe all professions, and professional sports, need to be more inclusive and equitable,’’ Walter said at the time. “It’s going to be wonderful to have a role model like her in both clubhouses from time to time.’’
King returned to Cal State L.A. in the 2025 spring semester. She also earned course credit for her interaction with fellow students enrolled through the university’s Prison Graduation Initiative.
“They have made a commitment to improving their lives through education,” she said, and “getting their degree will be life-changing for them.”
King now knows the feeling firsthand. At the graduation ceremony on Monday, she wore a gold stole embroidered with a multicolored tennis racket and the letters G.O.A.T — greatest of all time.
“It means a lot more to me than I thought,” she told reporters. “I am so glad I did it. My hope is that one other person will go back to school.
“It’s never too late, whatever age you are, whatever your abilities are, go for it if you want it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
