Final grades for the fall 2018 semester have come in, and the results show that the 23rd-ranked University of Missouri football team smashed program records for their work in the classroom.
Head Coach Barry Odom’s squad turned in a team grade point average of 2.90 this fall, which far surpassed the previous program best of 2.69 set in the fall of 2015. The 2.90 team mark also shattered the previous best for any spring or fall semester (the best spring mark on record was a 2.67 in 2012).
Additionally, 58 team members – more than half of the 115-man roster – earned a GPA of at least 3.0. That’s almost double the total of 30 Tigers from fall 2017 who recorded a 3.0 or better.
In addition, the Tigers will take the field at the Liberty Bowl with 11 graduates of the University of Missouri. Those Tigers who have already earned their degrees include OL Paul Adams, OL/TE Samson Bailey, TE Kendall Blanton, WR Nate Brown, LB Brandon Lee, QB Drew Lock, DB Dominic Nelson, WR Alex Ofodile, DB Khalil Oliver, OL Kevin Pendleton, DB Tavon Ross, DB Finis Stribling and LB Roderick Winters.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team for committing themselves to doing what it takes to have this kind of success,” said Odom. “They deserve a lot of credit for their hard work, and we certainly share the accomplishment with our Mizzou Made staff and all of the professors and faculty members who work with us to make it possible. I talk all the time to our team about the fact that football doesn’t last forever, so that means having a degree from Mizzou sets you up for the next 40-to-50 years of your life,” he said.
Mizzou is in the middle of preparations for the 2018 Liberty Bowl, to be played December 31 in Memphis, Tenn., against Oklahoma State. This will mark the second-straight bowl game appearance under Odom, as his 2017 Tigers closed last season in the Texas Bowl.
