ATHLETIC EXCELLENCE In Search of Excellence It’s exciting to be a part of Missouri Southern athletics, both as a participant and as a fan. The Missouri Southern Lions have been Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Champions in football, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, and tennis. The football team has been a winner, claiming the NAIA Division II National Championship in 1972 and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association title in 1993. The Lions currently have two players on NFL rosters and two playing minor league baseball. The Lions softball team is a frequent participant in regional action, and in 1992 won the NCAA Division II National Championship. The men’s basketball team hosted and won the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament and advanced to the Division II Final Four in 2000, while the baseball team has made numerous trips to the College World Series, finishing second in the nation in 1991. Both MSSU men and women have had national champions in track. In all, Missouri Southern has claimed 46 conference crowns, including 35 since joining the MIAA. Quality Athletes Each year Missouri Southern student-athletes are recognized by coaches around the conference as All-MIAA performers, while several also are named to All-America teams. MSSU men and women have been named MIAA Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and Ken B. Jones Award winners (for outstanding student-athlete in the conference), and have also been National Player of the Year honorees, as well as finalists for national awards such as the Harlon Hill Trophy in football. In 2008 and 2009, the women’s cross country and outdoor track and field teams claimed MIAA titles with the 2009 cross country team finishing third in Division II. The Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country team was ranked the fifth best overall program by the Coaches Association in 2009-10. The men’s cross country championship was the eighth in the previous nine years. During the 2004 season, both the men’s and women’s track and field teams claimed MIAA Indoor Titles, the first in school history. The Southern softball team has appeared in 18 of the last 20 conference tournaments. Men’s basketball has earned 15 straight berths to post season tournament and has an overall record of 193-106 over last eight years. Women’s basketball has gone to eight of the last nine conference tourneys and in 2004 had it’s best season since 1996. The golf team was fourth at the regional in 2009. Solid Students Of course the primary goal of any institution of higher education is to graduate its students. At Missouri Southern that philosophy is no different. Student-athletes wearing the Green & Gold also get the job done in the classroom. In the 1990s, the Lions boasted a graduation rate of 77.3 percent. MSSU student-athletes also have maintained cumulative team grade-point averages above the 3.0 mark. For their efforts, Southern’s student-athletes are routinely named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll teams, as well as the Academic All-MIAA, Presidential Scholar Athlete, and Academic All- District and All-America squads. In all, more than 60 Lions have been named Academic All-America. Contributors in the Community Not only do they perform on the field and in the classroom, but Missouri Southern’s Lions are also involved in the Joplin community. They work with such organizations as the Special Olympics, the Ronald McDonald House, the Boy’s and Girl’s Club, Adopt-A-Street, and the Children’s Miracle Network, and are frequently contacted by schools in the area with requests for special visits. Missouri Southern’s student-athletes are frequently invited to serve as hosts and guest speakers for special events in Joplin and the surrounding communities. Outstanding Facilities Of course, to be competitive, teams need quality facilities. Missouri Southern has those. The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center, constructed in 1999 with seating for more than 3,200, contains three gymnasiums, an indoor competition track, an incredible weight room and state-of-the-art sports rehabilitation facilities. In addition, Robert Ellis Young Gymnasium includes courts for basketball, racquetball and volley ball, and a six-lane swimming pool. The surfaces for football and outdoor track & field at Fred G. Hughes Stadium underwent a major renovation in 2003. The football field was given a new, top-of-the-line artificial playing surface and the all-weather track was equipped with a new all-weather surface, upgrading it to a national meet-caliber facility. Other outdoor facilities include lighted tennis courts, several soccer fields, two softball fields and one of the finest cross country courses in the nation. The course hosted regional meets in 1999, 2001 and 2004, 2007, as well as the 1999, 2007 and 2012 NCAA Division II Championships. 8 2014 MSSU BASEBALL @mososports missourisouthernlions mssulions.com
Missouri Southern Baseball Media Guide 2014
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