By Raychael Moseley / Managing Editor

Missouri Valley College athletes are proving they are as skilled in the classroom as they are on the field with 130 of them named Heart Scholar Athletes. These athletes are recognized by the Heart of America Athletic Conference for maintaining at least a 3.4 GPA across 60 credit hours, while also being on the varsity roster for their sport. 

President Joseph Parisi had great pride when he saw the number of scholar-athletes MVC produced, which was more than any other school in the conference. 

“I’ll tell anybody that will listen about it because I’m proud of it,” he said. “It’s a big deal, a monumental game-changing moment for the college. I’m just so proud of that and I’m so proud of this campus” 

Parisi wants this trend will continue upward, hoping to have students pour into their success just as the faculty and coaches do. 

“The faculty does such a remarkable job as evidenced with the number of scholar-athletes produced,” he said. “I also think the coaches and the athletic department need the recognition for recruiting good students and students that will not only work hard in their sport but also in the classroom. I hope that the students will continue to make great strides in their academic achievements.” 

Athletic Director Mike Machholz was excited that MVC is being recognized for academics and not just sports. 

“People often see Missouri Valley as just an athletic school, but it’s clear that that’s not our only goal here,” he said. “Our goal is to have people successful beyond athletics.”

Machholz noted that changes to the recruitment process play a role in this achievement. 

“I’ve been pushing recruitment of students with higher GPAs and that is very important to me,” he said. “Better people make better Vikings. We want players that are electric on the field but can also spell electric.” 

Men’s Soccer Head Coach Vladimir Simic was proud of his team. 

“I always tell them school is number one,” he said. “Yes, we came here to play soccer, but we also came to learn.” 

The men’s soccer team led the school with 18 scholar-athletes. Simic hopes to continue good academics across his team. 

Alexis Lark plays women’s lacrosse and had a clear goal set for the spring semester: getting on that list. Lark emphasized how much the school’s resources play a big role in achieving this goal.

“It was nice to be recognized by the school for my academics,” she said. “I utilized a lot of the school’s resources like the learning center and free tutoring they give. Receiving this accolade gave me the motivation to try and get it again. I hope that it has that effect on the other scholar-athletes.”

To view the full list of athletes click here