Much research has investigated the determinants of higher education funding across the United States. Some established variables are statewide conditions while other variables relate to the political machine in the capital city. Politicians' personal characteristics, such as party affiliation and gender, influence higher education funding. This paper investigates whether the one state flagship university receives preferential funding. An original hand-collected dataset on governors' degree attainment is used to examine the role of the governor's own education in the funding outcomes. Results indicate that all public colleges within a state's system receive higher funding when the governor is a graduate of the state's flagship.