36 Huskers Set to Graduate Saturday

Lincoln - A strong class of 36 current and former Husker student-athletes across all sports will earn their undergraduate degrees from the University of Nebraska during commencement exercises on Saturday morning at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Coach Bo Pelini's Nebraska football program makes up nearly half the list of December graduates with 15 current or former players earning degrees, including two-time first-team CoSIDA Academic All-America I-back Rex Burkhead. Other members of the 2012 NU football team include Nick Ash, Taylor Dixon, KC Hyland, Micah Kreikemeier, Tim Marlowe, Conor McDermott, Cameron Meredith, Cole Pensick, Kyler Reed, Graham Stoddard, Alonzo Whaley and C.J. Zimmerer. Overall, 20 Huskers are scheduled to compete in the 2013 Capital One Bowl against Georgia in Orlando, Fla., on New Year's Day with their degrees in hand.

Former Huskers John Parella (1990-92) and Eric Warfield (1995-97) also are set to receive their bachelor's degrees on Saturday.

Five members of Coach Pablo Morales' swimming and diving program will receive their diplomas on Saturday, including Bobbi Balogh, Mailene Leslie, D'Arcy Schmidt, Riley Seidel and Caroline Shea. Four current or former Nebraska baseball players will claim their degrees for Coach Darin Erstad's program, including current Husker Kash Kalkowski and former players Chase Adams, Patric Tolentino and Sean Yost.

Coach John Walker's soccer program will add Emma Stevens and Molly Thomas to the list of graduates, while Coach Gary Pepin's track and field program will contribute Dale Ervin and Tara Korshoj. Katelyn Busacker and Kaitlin Reid from Coach Dan Kendig's women's gymnastics program will earn their degrees, along with women's golfer Madeleine Sheils and men's golfer Scott Willman.

All-American Valerie Calberry will represent the perennial national power Nebraska bowling program at graduation, while former Husker men's basketball player Steve Harley will also earn his degree. Men's tennis player Andrew Freeman and Katie Kostal from the rifle program round out the list of Huskers picking up diplomas in December.

Nebraska's diverse group of 36 December graduates came to Lincoln from 15 states and Canada

Nebraska continues to feature one of the highest graduation rates in the nation, while leading the nation in the number of CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (302) and NCAA Top Eight Award winners (16) across all sports.

December 2012 Nebraska Student-Athlete Graduates (36)

• Student-Athlete (Sport) - Hometown (Major)
• Chase Adams (Baseball) - Mineola, Texas (Management)
• Nick Ash (Football) - Keller, Texas (Finance)
• Bobbi Balogh (Swimming & Diving) - Lincoln, Neb. (Biological Systems Engineering)
• Rex Burkhead (Football) - Plano, Texas (History)
• Katelyn Busacker (Women's Gymnastics) - Papillion, Neb. (Dietetics)
• Valerie Calberry (Bowling) - Brampton, Ontario, Canada (Dietetics/Nutrition, Exercise & Health Science)
• Taylor Dixon (Football) - Wauneta, Neb. (Fisheries & Wildlife)
• Dale Ervin (Men's Track & Field) - Omaha, Neb. (Finance)
• Andrew Freeman (Men's Tennis) - Tulsa, Okla. (Sociology)
• Steve Harley (Men's Basketball) - Temple Hills, Md. (Sociology)
• KC Hyland (Football) - Lincoln, Neb. (Business Administration)
• Kash Kalkowski (Baseball) - Grand Island, Neb. (Communication Studies)
• Tara Korshoj (Women's Track & Field) - Omaha, Neb. (Speech-Language Pathologist)
• Katie Kostal (Rifle) - Bay City, Mich. (History)
• Micah Kreikemeier (Football) - West Point, Neb. (Civil Engineering)
• Mailene Leslie (Swimming & Diving) - Corvallis, Ore. (Business Administration)
• Tim Marlowe (Football) - Youngstown, Ohio (Communication Studies)
• Conor McDermott (Football) - Omaha, Neb. (Economics/Finance)
• Cameron Meredith (Football) - Huntington Beach, Calif. (Management)
• John Parrella (Football) - Grand Island, Neb. (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
• Cole Pensick (Football) - Lincoln, Neb. (Agribusiness)
• Kyler Reed (Football) - Shawnee, Kan. (Management/Marketing)
• Kaitlin Reid (Women's Gymnastics) - Santa Fe, N.M. (Nutrition, Exercise & Health Science)
• D'Arcy Schmidt (Swimming & Diving) - Scottsdale, Ariz. (Art)
• Riley Seidel (Swimming & Diving) - LaCrosse, Wis. (Marketing)
• Caroline Shea (Swimming & Diving) - Denver, Colo. (Forensic Science)
• Madeleine Sheils (Women's Golf) - Boise, Idaho (Philosophy)
• Emma Stevens (Soccer) - Corona, Calif. (Political Science)
• Graham Stoddard (Football) - Lincoln, Neb. (Finance)
• Molly Thomas (Soccer) - Omaha, Neb. (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
• Patric Tolentino (Baseball) - Sickles, Okla. (Business Administration)
• Eric Warfield (Football) - Texarkana, Ark. (Sociology)
• Alonzo Whaley (Football) - Madisonville, Texas (Criminology & Criminal Justice)
• Scott Willman (Men's Golf) - Prairie Village, Kan. (Marketing)
• Sean Yost (Baseball) - Lincoln, Neb. (Sociology)
• C.J. Zimmerer (Football) - Omaha, Neb. (Criminology & Criminal Justice)