THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO — Episode 2947 — Pictured: Musical guest Toby Keith performs on June 8, 2005 — (Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

The University of Oklahoma commencement ceremony was bittersweet for the family of Toby Keith. Last fall, he learned that he would be the recipient of an honorary degree from the university that he had pledged his support to for so many years, but sadly, he did not live to receive the honor.

Instead, his daughter, Krystal Keith, stepped in to accept the degree for his family. During her address, she said, “I actually made a joke about how many hours I spent here getting my bachelor’s degree, and he joked that he didn’t have to work that hard to get his. But we all know he earned it and spent many more hours dedicating his life to earning it this way. He loved his family (he loved all of us), God, our country, and Sooner Nation…He simply bled Crimson and Cream.”

It wasn’t just sports that drew Toby to Oklahoma. Although he did not go to college, his three children did and all went to Oklahoma at his insistence. Krystal pointed out that when her younger sister wanted to attend the best veterinarian school in the state, he told her, “Well, I guess you don’t get to be the best.”