COLUMBIA, Mo. - When punter Adam Crossett boots the football against Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl Jan. 1, it will culminate his dream to excel, both in the classroom and on the field. Crossett, a first-year MBA student in the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business, was named an ESPN the Magazine First-Team Academic All-American, selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America, on Dec. 10.
The honor recognizes Crossett's 3.96 GPA combined with his outstanding performance as a punter for the Tigers, where he ranks fifth in MU's career punting averages. "I think if you look at some of the people who are on that [Academic All-American] list, they are a group that's done a good job balancing the time constraints of athletics with academics – not just academic survival, but making it a priority," Crossett says. "I've given it my best shot. There are a lot of good students with full-time jobs who have the same challenges, but don't get the credit that athletes get. Athletics is like a full-time job."
Crossett said his interests were divided between political science and business when he attended Summer Welcome as a freshman. "But when you set foot on campus and see Cornell Hall, you know there's a commitment to the College of Business," says Crossett, of Liberty, Mo. He majored in marketing, drawing inspiration from classes taught by Peter Bloch on how consumers perceive value. "I learned things in his class that I'm applying in my MBA courses every day," explains Crossett.
This week, his course in organizational behavior requires him to write a paper about the struggles the football team endured from their less-than-stellar 2004 season to this year's national prominence. "The cohesiveness we have as a team wasn't present in 2004," Crossett reflects. "The lines of communication are much more open now, and we function in more of a family-like atmosphere. The coaches put out a big effort to make that happen."
Crossett says MU's 2007 football team wants to go out with a bang. When he takes the field Jan. 1, he'll get down to the business of football. "I'm out there for a reason, and I know I have the ability. I just trust my training and gain confidence from being prepared." That same mindset has worked well for Crossett in his undergraduate studies and now his time in the Crosby MBA program at MU, culminating in his Academic All-American honor.