Shaquille O'Neal is larger than life and his walk across that stage today was no different, much to the delight of the crowd. That walk took him 20 years. Shaq left LSU (Louisiana State University) early to join the NBA and shot to fame. Four championship titles over a 19-year career, all of it colorful, from his clashes on the court, and of it a reality TV show, his rap album. His stint as a reserve police officer in Miami . But he promised his mother he would get his degree he did and kept going all the way to this  - A doctorate in education. Ever you got tired to looking down?

No.

My interview airing tomorrow on Good Morning America, Shaq told me it wasn't a walk in the park.

The hardest part was getting back into high school mode. You ever have that high school teacher that says, you’ve got to read six chapters over the weekend？

And you were going ‘oh my god?’

Yeah, oh my god. So ...

Shaq wrote his thesis on the role of humor in leadership. But he says this is no laughing matter. Education is important. No, children, if you're listener, the time alarm is now.

That's the message he learned from his parents, and he returned the favor by paying for the whole family to go to college including his mum who was beaming today. I'm proud because I know he earned that title. And I'm honored that I can call him Dr. O'Neal.

And now the man who was once called Shaq says he will answer only to ‘Dr. O'Neal.’

Yunji De Nies, ABC News, Miami.