I’ve often said that, if there were a Mizzou holiday, it would be Homecoming. I encourage you—during the most wonderful time of the year on our campus—to reflect on what the Mizzou experience means to you. As we prepare to celebrate all things Mizzou, here are four more reasons to love being a Tiger:
Mizzou keeps great company.
When Jim Sterk was named Director of Athletics this summer, I remember him mentioning one of the things that attracted him to Mizzou was our membership in the SEC and the AAU (Association of American Universities). As a member of the AAU, Mizzou is one of the 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada—and the only AAU-accredited public university in Missouri.
And the SEC, of course, is widely considered the most powerful, well-run athletic conference in the country. This is a powerful combination—and your University is one of only four in the nation who can claim membership in both.
Mizzou has been the preeminent resource for Missouri for more than 175 years.
When you think about the confluence of MU Extension, MU Health, Mizzou Athletics, our in-state alumni base (nearly 170,000) and our in-state students (more than 23,000), it’s hard to think of another entity that makes a bigger impact on our state on a daily basis.
Mizzou students are top-notch.
I feel blessed to represent and work with Mizzou alumni daily, but I treasure the interaction with our students. Yes, enrollment is down this fall, but the quality of our students is not:
This year, 134 high school valedictorians chose to attend Mizzou.
Our mean ACT score tied an all-time high of 26.
Nearly 30 percent of our freshman ranked in the top 10 percent of their graduating high school class.
More than 50 percent ranked in the top 20 percent.
Combine these high achievers with our tremendous faculty on a classic college campus in one of the top 30 college towns, and you get a world-class education—in the heart of Missouri.
Mizzou alumni love their school in record-breaking fashion.
I’ve been in the alumni engagement business for more than 20 years, and—believe it or not—last year was the most successful: Mizzou achieved nearly $170 million in fundraising support, a record year and proof of strong alumni support.
We also achieved more engagement from alumni than ever before. Last year, thousands of alumni communicated with us about various campus issues. Whether you agreed, disagreed, offered support or just shared your thoughts, your opinion was valued because we know how much you care about Mizzou.
Homecoming is a special time. I hope that, even if you can’t make it back to campus, you will celebrate Mizzou in some way. Wherever you will be this Homecoming weekend, I ask you to celebrate your alma mater — by sharing this post with others as a reminder of everything we have to come home to at Mizzou.
Happy Homecoming, Tigers.
Todd McCubbin, MEd ‘95 Executive Director, Mizzou Alumni Association