Together, they represented five sports, 18 years on campus and a host of athletic and non-athletic contributions to MU. And yet these sports stars still made up less than 13 percent of the Mizzou ’39 Class of 2012.
Although a mere piece in the diverse and prestigious puzzle of Mizzou ’39, an annual award bestowed upon 39 outstanding MU seniors, athletics celebrated an off-the-field victory Saturday night at the class’s induction banquet in the Reynolds Alumni Center.
Basketball forward Laurence Bowers, football wide receiver T.J. Moe, swimmer Michael Lopresti, baseball catcher Andreas Plackis and track sprinter Leslie Farmer all made the cut.
They joined 34 other students set to graduate in the next calendar year. According to the selection committee, all 39 have exemplified excellence in academics, school activities and community service to earn the honor that represents MU’s 1839 founding.
“It’s a big honor, getting recognized for something besides basketball,” said Bowers, who has been unable to compete for the No. 4 men’s basketball team due to an ACL injury. “Also, me being hurt, it’s really lifted my spirits. I feel fortunate to be able to represent the university in the classroom and on the court.”
All 39 members went through an application and interview process that whittled the field from 162 applicants year down to the 39 honored at Saturday’s banquet.
On a campus as large as MU, which is home to more than 26,000 undergraduate students, the process of selecting the Mizzou ’39 remains a challenge each winter. Selection committee chairman Wally Pfeffer said the applicant pool has grown 5 percent from last year and has doubled since the first applicant pool from 2005.
“Every year there are extraordinary individuals,” said Christy Brethorst, vice president of the Alumni Association Student Board. “We’ve reached a more diverse crowd, definitely encompassing all of the different (undergraduate) colleges, all of the different activities on campus.”
Pfeffer has served as a judge for six of the eight Mizzou ’39 classes. He said this was the highest total of athletes making the field that he’s seen.
“As someone who follows Mizzou sports and knows that the graduation rate for Mizzou is among the highest for all BCS schools, it just seemed odd to me that we didn’t have more student-athletes,” Pfeffer said.
Pfeffer sought to change that, speaking with coaches and Athletics Director Mike Alden about encouraging student-athletes who qualify with a 3.0 GPA to apply.
Football coach Andy Hill said the encouragement has spread in his program. Hill served as Moe’s mentor Saturday night and has worked with the junior as his wide receivers coach since he arrived on campus.
“T.J. is a well-rounded guy who is very serious about his academics and very serious about his football team, so I think it’s pretty neat,” Hill said.
For all of Moe’s accomplishments, which include all-Big 12 Conference honors in football and academics on top of community service contributions, the star was still just one of 39 seniors boasting similar resumes.
“We have so many different talents and skills they’ve contributed over their four years here,” Brethorst said. “(The class features) so many great people that you can strive to become that completely embody what it means to give to Mizzou, the university (and) the community above all.”
