Already 5-foot-8 at 11 years old, Paul Rowley ’17, J.D. ’20 was thrown into the world of basketball and has been playing ever since — even as his interests transitioned from the court to the courtroom.

For the past five years, Rowley, now 6-foot-8, has played on the Tribe men’s basketball team as a forward. Rowley graduated magna cum laude in three years from William & Mary with a double major in computer science and finance, and is currently in his second year at W&M Law School.

As a Washington Post writer noted, “He hasn’t enjoyed his five years at William & Mary, he has reveled in them.”

Rowley is the only known William & Mary basketball player to take on the challenge of balancing hours of law school classes and studying as well as being a key player on the basketball team. He was honored as the Colonial Athletic Association’s Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2018.

As a Washington Post writer noted, ‘He hasn’t enjoyed his five years at William & Mary, he has reveled in them.'”

As such, and as a scholarship recipient, he’s an excellent example of the kinds of scholar-athletes that thrive at William & Mary, enriching their classrooms, their courts (and courtrooms, in Paul’s case).

“Effectively, I have one full-time job, to be a student, and I have another full-time job, to throw a ball in the hoop with a bunch of guys whose company I love and enjoy,” he said. “I have a great opportunity.”