Dear Mizzou Fans;

We hope that this finds you and your family safe and sound during these unprecedented times we are experiencing. As our nation continues to navigate and respond to COVID-19, all of us find ourselves adjusting to a rapidly changing environment. There is some great news to share with you at the bottom of this update, so please read all the way to the end!

Our staff continues to work remotely and prepare for an exciting 2020-2021 sports season. We are working with our senior student-athletes in our spring sports, as well as our coaches and sport administrators, to determine how many will return next season after being granted an additional year of eligibility last week by the NCAA. There are 23 Tigers eligible for another senior year, and we believe that the scholarship costs for may approach $500,000, but, granting them this option was the right thing in light of the circumstances.

Last Friday, the SEC announced that its conference-mandated suspension of all team and individual practices, meetings and other organized functions would be extended until May 31 and that all teams, including football, may now conduct four hours of weekly virtual film review that does not include physical activity. In addition, the spring National Letter of Intent signing period in all sports will begin as scheduled on April 15.

Mizzou Athletics is tremendously thankful for your continued Tiger Scholarship Fund support. While the 2019-20 sports year was unexpectedly cut short, your generosity helped provide several memorable moments for our Mizzou student-athletes:

• With a 3.15 fall 2019 grade-point average, Mizzou student-athletes established a school-record mark for the fourth time in the last five semesters. In addition, 189 student-athletes earned fall Dean's List honors, including 40 with perfect 4.00 marks.
• 24 student-athletes received their degrees in December 2019 and more than 60 are expected to graduate next month in a virtual ceremony.
• Five Mizzou teams posted 2019 SEC-leading NCAA Graduation Success Rate marks--Baseball (95), Men's Golf (100), Women's Golf (100), Women's Swimming & Diving (100) and Women's Tennis (100).
• Mizzou student-athletes completed more than 1,500 community service hours in Mid-Missouri.
• Mizzou had eight programs rank among the nation's Top 25 in 2019-20 and five finished in the Top 25 in Men's Swimming & Diving (No. 7), Women's Gymnastics (No. 14), Women's Swimming & Diving (No. 20), Softball (No. 15 D1 Softball.com, No. 25 USA Today/NFCA Coaches) and Wrestling (No. 23).
• In addition, Mizzou Volleyball spent much of the 2019 season in the Top 25 (and was third among others receiving votes in the final poll), Men's Indoor Track & Field was ranked for two weeks and Football was ranked by the AP for one week.
• Eight Mizzou programs qualified for the 2019-2020 postseason—Volleyball, Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Wrestling, Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Men's Indoor Track & Field and Women's Indoor Track & Field.
• A trio of Tiger sophomores won individual conference titles in Wrestling's Brock Mauller (148 lbs.), Danny Kovoc of Men's Swimming & Diving (100 Fly) and Martin Prodanov (Mile) of Men's Indoor Track & Field.
• Mizzou Wrestling swept the MAC regular-season and tournament titles. The Tigers have won nine-straight conference tournament titles dating back to the 2012 Big 12 Tournament crown.
• Mizzou had 24 student-athletes in seven sports earn 2019-2020 All-America honors.
• For the second-straight year, Mizzou Men's Basketball beat Illinois in the annual Braggin' Rights Game, as the Tigers scored a 63-56 win over the Illini in St. Louis. It marked Mizzou's first back-to-back series victories since the 2011-12 and 2012-13 campaigns.
• 2019 National Coach of the Year Finalist Eliah Drinkwitz was introduced as Mizzou's 33^rd Head Football Coach on Dec. 10, 2019.
• The new home for Mizzou Football, the $98M South End Zone Facility, opened to rave reviews in July 2019.
• Last fall, Mizzou announced a six-year agreement to play longtime rival Kansas in men's basketball starting with the 2020-21 season. Two of the games will be played at the Sprint Center in Kansas City with two games each in Columbia and Lawrence. In addition, the institutions are expected to resume playing in other sports as future schedules allow and a four-game football series is being contracted as of this writing.

None of the above accomplishments would be possible without the generous support of our Tiger Scholarship Fund members and loyal season ticket holders, and on behalf of our student-athletes, coaches and staff we say THANK YOU!

As we close this week's update, I am thrilled to share with you that Ryan Alpert will be returning to Mizzou Athletics on April 13 as a Deputy Athletics Director, and providing senior-level oversight, coordination and integration of Mizzou's external operations within our fundraising, ticketing and marketing units. He returns to Mizzou after spending two years at Florida Atlantic University as the Owls' Deputy Athletics Director.

Prior to serving as the senior level development leader within Mizzou Athletics, Ryan worked as Assistant Athletics Director for Development at the University of Memphis. Please join me in welcoming Ryan, his wife Rebecca, and three-month-old daughter Mary Margaret back to Columbia!

I wish you and your family a safe and healthy week.

M-I-Z,
Jim Sterk
Director of Athletics
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