Bell, in keeping a promise to his late father, walked across the stage at the Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis for the first time as a college graduate of the University of Minnesota.
"I really wanted to dance across the stage,” he said. “So many people here touched me and they were on the stage. The faculty members, all of them, came up in the back to shake my hand. They grabbed me; they hugged me.
“It's a great feeling. It's just like in the stadium."
Bell left Minnesota in 1962 with nine credits remaining to graduate and instead chose to play professional football while also working at General Motors.