Travis Kelce’s first arena show for his “New Heights” podcast with big brother Jason Kelce featured friendship bracelets and plenty of dancing — all inspired by his girlfriend, pop superstar Taylor Swift.
The All-Pro Chiefs tight end, 34, made sure to pay tribute to the 14-time Grammy winner during Thursday’s live podcast taping at Fifth Third Arena, home of the Cincinnati Bearcats, whom Jason and Travis played for in college.
Travis wore a trio of friendship bracelets on his right wrist — a staple accessory at Swift’s concerts on her Eras Tour, which is currently on hiatus until May — while accepting his college diploma in a surprise commencement ceremony put on by the University of Cincinnati.
The three-time Super Bowl champ chugged a beer on the stage after the University of Cincinnati’s president, Dr. Neville Pinto, handed him his diploma.
Travis completed his remaining college credit hours in 2022 and graduated, but did not take part in a ceremony, according to Front Office Sports.
Another Swift, 34, reference came during the first-ever Great “Lombaby” Games — a nod to the Vince Lombardi Trophy — in which 10 Bearcat athletes faced off against 10 fellow students in a series of Olympics-style challenges as the Kelce brothers refereed and commentated.
Travis was seen dancing to Swift’s 2014 hit song, “Shake It Off” in the midst of the competition.
“That’s one of my favorites,” he was heard telling the crowd in a TikTok video posted from the show.
Swift was not in attendance at the live event, although she’s currently on a break from touring.
The University of Cincinnati also informed the public not to count on Swift being a part of the surprise guests at the show — which included Cardinals quarterback and Cincinnati legend Desmond Ridder.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Travis’ former Chiefs teammate, Orlando Brown Jr., were special guests.
Travis and Jason’s parents, Donna and Ed Kelce, sat front and center with the former Eagles center’s wife, Kylie Kelce.
Donna also brought her sons a bunch of balloons from Party City before the show, as seen in a photo posted by the “New Heights” account on X.
Jason, 36, and Travis will donate a portion of gross ticket sales from the event to Cincy Reigns, the official NIL collective of Cincinnati Athletics.
Jason, who announced his NFL retirement last month after spending his entire 13-season career with the Eagles, attended Cincinnati from 2006-10 before he was picked in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft by Philadelphia.
Travis attended UC from 2008-12 before Kansas City selected him in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft.
The brothers’ “New Heights” podcast won Podcast of the Year at the 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards in March.
