@MizzouAthletics Unveils #MizzouMade Program
8/24/2016 4:49:00 PM | General, MizzouMade
Comprehensive student-athlete developmental experience to be offered at Mizzou
COLUMBIA, Mo. – "Mizzou Made", the slogan often seen on social media and around many University of Missouri facilities, has a new and exciting meaning to Mizzou Athletics, as a comprehensive, strategic student-athlete development program has been unveiled for the 2016-17 academic year.
The Mizzou Made model, which houses components of academic, personal, professional and career development, will look to build upon the nationally-renowned work of Mizzou's Total Person Program, which has been an industry leader for more than a decade. Designed to enhance the student-athlete experience, Mizzou Made aims to bring student-athletes to the utmost level of preparedness for life following graduation.
"Mizzou Made is an exciting addition to our department," said Associate Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Development Kim Bishop. "It will have a significant, positive impact on our student-athletes' experience while they are on campus, through graduation and beyond. The strategic, integrated program is designed to meet student-athletes at their specific developmental level, and through the comprehensive curriculum addressing academic, personal, and professional development, the student-athletes will be even more prepared for life after athletics."
Mizzou's student-athlete development has been exemplary in recent history, with the athletic department's 10-year average for exhausted eligibility graduate rate sitting at a strong 96 percent. The Tigers' overall student-athlete grade point average for the Fall 2015 semester was 3.03 - the highest mark in the last 10 years.
The new Mizzou Made curriculum aims to bolster the already standout academic progress being made by Mizzou's student-athletes. Throughout the first two years in the program, student-athletes will focus on their transition to Mizzou and their personal and academic achievement. Career fairs, networking nights and further professional education begins during the third and fourth years of the program.
In partnership with the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE), the new program will feature a theme of promoting understanding, respect and equality by using the unifying power of sports. The Mizzou/RISE collaboration will provide diversity and inclusivity education to Tiger student-athletes and staff throughout the school year, challenging them to "RISE Together".
"Sports provide an opportunity to create change, bringing people together from various backgrounds and races," said RISE Academic Advisor and Board Member Ken Shropshire. "We are thrilled to collaborate with the University of Missouri's athletic department and their student-athletes to facilitate honest and meaningful discussions about race, and the importance of respect, equality and inclusiveness; and applaud them for taking these essential steps forward."
Founded in 2015, RISE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to harnessing the unifying power of sport to advance race relations and drive social progress. Mizzou's participants will be asked to challenge dominant social narrative that only certain people can win by building a community and environment where all are encouraged to succeed.
Leadership development and community involvement also plays a pivotal role in the Mizzou Made curriculum, with opportunities offered with Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Student-Athlete Working Group, Tiger Leadership Institute, Caleb's Pitch, Starlight Reading and Mizzou Moves.
Additionally, Mizzou's latest Olympic medalist, J'den Cox, will appear in a public service announcement that represents the theme of the program, "RISE Together". The two-time NCAA Champion for Mizzou Wrestling has a special perspective on the meaning of being "#MizzouMade", as Cox hails from Columbia and has spent his life growing up around the University of Missouri.
Mizzou's student-athletes began the Mizzou Made program with orientation seminars coinciding with the first week of classes on campus, and the schedule continues onward through the fall and spring semesters.
For continued updates on Mizzou Made, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.
