Ļć½¶Ö±²„again recognized by Halbrook Awards for highest graduation rates among student athletes
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.āĻć½¶Ö±²„ again is receiving major recognition from the Halbrook Awards for Academic Achievement Among Athletes program.
During this weekās Mississippi Association of Colleges and Universities Annual Conference, Ļć½¶Ö±²„was named winner in the Public University Division for the highest percentage of both female and male athletes graduating ā with 87 percent of females graduating and 72 percent of males graduating. The universityās overall graduation rate for student athletes is 77 percent.
Administered cooperatively by the Board of Trustees of State 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 Ļć½¶Ö±²„receiving the overall female and male awards for two consecutive years, the universityās female student athletes have been recognized by the Halbrook Awards program for the last four years.
āWinning these prestigious awards is a significant accomplishment for our talented student athletes and overall athletics program here at Mississippi State,ā said Ļć½¶Ö±²„President Mark E. Keenum.
Additionally, two Ļć½¶Ö±²„student athletes received David M. Halbrook certificates for academic achievement. They include Brandon B. McBride, a member of the menās track and field team and a public policy and administration masterās student from Canada, and Cornelia Griesche, a womenās track and field team member from Germany who graduated summa cum laude with a bachelorās in economics this past spring.
In May, McBride also graduated cum laude with a bachelorās degree in business administration.
āHaving the highest male and female student-athlete graduation rate in back-to-back years is a great honor,ā said Christine Jackson, Ļć½¶Ö±²„assistant athletic director and director of athletic academic support services. āThe 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.ā
āWe are very appreciative of the IHL for bestowing such an honor upon us and for its continuous support of academic excellence throughout the state,ā Jackson added.
For more on Ļć½¶Ö±²„Athletics, visit and follow on social media @HailState.
Ļć½¶Ö±²„is Mississippiās leading university, available online at .