Burt Reynolds his spleen and injured his other knee in a bad car accident. These injuries hampered his abilities on the field, and after being beaten in coverage for the game-winning touchdown in a 7-0 loss to North Carolina State on October 12, 1957, he decided to give up football. Ending his college football career, Reynolds thought of becoming a police officer; however, his father suggested he finish college and become a parole officer. To keep up with his studies, he began taking classes at Palm Beach Junior College (PBJC) in neighboring Lake Park. In his first term at PBJC, he was
Burt Reynolds a lifelong fan of American football, a result of his collegiate career, and was a minority owner of the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL from 1982 to 1986. The team's name was inspired by the "Smokey and the Bandit" trilogy and Skoal Bandit, a primary sponsor for the team as a result of also sponsoring Reynolds' motor racing team. Reynolds co-owned a NASCAR Winston Cup team, Mach 1 Racing, with Hal Needham, which ran the #33 "Skoal Bandit" car with driver Harry Gant. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Florida State University in 1981 and later endorsed the