Travis Kelce was kicked off his college football team at the University of Cincinnati for failing a drug test, which he has described as the result of partying too much and using marijuana before the 2010 Sugar Bowl.

What actually happened

  • Kelce was suspended for the entire 2010 season after violating team rules with a failed drug test while at Cincinnati.
  • The failed test came right around the Allstate Sugar Bowl against Florida, and the team removed him from the program for a year.
  • He has since talked openly about it as a major wake‑up call that forced him to “tighten up” and take football and life more seriously.

Was he fully “kicked out of college”?

  • He was effectively kicked off the Bearcats football team for a season, not academically expelled from the university itself.
  • After the suspension, he returned on a much shorter leash, worked his way back, and rebuilt trust with coaches and teammates.

How it changed his career

  • During the suspension, coaches moved him from quarterback into the tight end room, which ended up being the position that made him an NFL star.
  • Kelce has said that without that suspension and position change, his career might have gone very differently, and it ultimately set up his rise with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Meta description: Why did Travis Kelce get kicked out of college? He was suspended from the Cincinnati football team after a failed marijuana drug test around the 2010 Sugar Bowl, a turning point that led to his eventual switch to tight end and NFL stardom.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.