March 31, 2014
SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State University hosted its fourth annual Maroon and White Honors Banquet and Scholar-Athlete Awards ceremony Monday (March 31) at JQH Arena. In all, 177 student-athletes were recognized for achieving a minimum 3.25 cumulative grade-point average for all semesters at Missouri State.
This year's crop of academic honorees represent better than 45 percent of MSU's student-athletes currently participating in its 16 intercollegiate programs.
The event was underwritten by the The Bank of Missouri, the presenting sponsor for the annual Bank of Missouri Eagle Awards for the top graduating student-athletes holding the highest cumulative grade point averages. The recipients of this year's awards were: Karly Buer, a senior women's basketball player from Concordia, Kan., majoring in Sport and Park Administration; and Caleb Schaffitzel, a junior football player from Fair Grove, Mo., majoring in Wildlife Conservation and Management. Both student-athletes will graduate this May with Summa Cum Laude honors.
The ceremony also included recognition by the student-athletes of their professors, faculty and academic mentors in attendance for their hard work and dedication to Missouri State's student-athletes. Additional remarks and congratulations were offered by Missouri State University President Clif Smart and Director of Athletics Kyle Moats.
Significant individual academic achievers were also highlighted, including Capital One/CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American Schaffitzel; Men's Soccer MVC Elite 18 Award recipient Cole Alexander; and fellow men's soccer standout James Fawke, who was presented with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division I Men's Scholar All-America Second Team honor.
Likewise, the Mid-American Conference recognized three MSU student-athletes with MAC Presidential Awards for graduating seniors with a 3.50 cumulative GPA or higher. Katie Mulloy and Catrina Schmidt of field hockey and swimmer Jared Roberts earned these prestigious awards from the MAC.
The final honor of the night, The Highest Team GPA Award, was presented to the Missouri State men's golf (3.64 GPA) and field hockey (3.51 GPA) programs.
The complete list of individual honorees by sport is as follows:
