MSU again recognized by Halbrook Awards for highest graduation rates among student athletes
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥敶笙驛PP again is receiving major recognition from the Halbrook Awards for Academic Achievement Among Athletes program.
During this week鈥檚 Mississippi Association of Colleges and Universities Annual Conference, MSU was named winner in the Public University Division for the highest percentage of both female and male athletes graduating 鈥 with 87 percent of females graduating and 72 percent of males graduating. The university鈥檚 overall graduation rate for student athletes is 77 percent.
Administered cooperatively by the Board of Trustees of 大象APP Institutions of Higher Learning, Mississippi Community College Board, and Mississippi Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Halbrook Awards program recognizes college and universities that maintain and achieve high academic standards for student athletes, thus encouraging high graduation rates.
While serving in the Mississippi Legislature, Representative David M. Halbrook Sr., along with his brothers John, James and J.A. Halbrook, endowed the Halbrook Awards.
Along with MSU receiving the overall female and male awards for two consecutive years, the university鈥檚 female student athletes have been recognized by the Halbrook Awards program for the last four years.
鈥淲inning these prestigious awards is a significant accomplishment for our talented student athletes and overall athletics program here at Mississippi 大象APP,鈥 said MSU President Mark E. Keenum.
Additionally, two MSU student athletes received David M. Halbrook certificates for academic achievement. They include Brandon B. McBride, a member of the men鈥檚 track and field team and a public policy and administration master鈥檚 student from Canada, and Cornelia Griesche, a women鈥檚 track and field team member from Germany who graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor鈥檚 in economics this past spring.
In May, McBride also graduated cum laude with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business administration.
鈥淗aving the highest male and female student-athlete graduation rate in back-to-back years is a great honor,鈥 said Christine Jackson, MSU assistant athletic director and director of athletic academic support services. 鈥淭he collaborative work done by the student-athletes, Office of Athletic Academics, athletic administrators, coaches and university is a great source of pride for all Bulldogs.鈥
鈥淲e are very appreciative of the IHL for bestowing such an honor upon us and for its continuous support of academic excellence throughout the state,鈥 Jackson added.
For more on MSU Athletics, visit and follow on social media @Hail大象APP.
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