Dozen Huskers Earn Degrees

Lincoln - Twelve current and former Husker student-athletes across all sports earned their undergraduate degrees from the University of Nebraska during commencement exercises on Saturday, Aug. 13, at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

The group included 12 student-athletes from eight states and one foreign country. Three student-athletes from the Nebraska football program earned their degrees before playing their senior seasons for the Huskers. Wide receiver Alonzo Moore (Winnfield, La.), linebacker Michael Rose-Ivey (Kansas City, Mo.) and offensive lineman Corey Whitaker (Murrieta, Calif) earned their diplomas before playing the 2016 season as graduate students. Moore, a sociology major, has been a member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. He earned spots on both the Brook Berringer and Tom Osborne Citizenship teams in 2016. Moore owns 40 receptions and has started 14 games on the field for the Huskers. Rose-Ivey, a sociology major, was an academic All-Big Ten choice in 2013 after setting the Nebraska freshman tackle record with 66 stops. He added a prestigious Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award in 2013. He owns 93 career tackles and 10 starts in his Husker career. Whitaker, a business administration major, saw his first playing time as a junior on the O-line in 2015. He also earned a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the spring of 2016.

Meghan Haggerty (Glen Ellyn, Ill.), a middle blocker on the 2015 NCAA Champion Nebraska volleyball team, claimed her bachelor’s degree after majoring in marketing at Nebraska. Haggerty was an honorable-mention AVCA All-American as a sophomore in 2013, when she also earned academic All-Big Ten honors. She was a member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2016.

Benny Parker (Kansas City, Kan.), captured his diploma after majoring in business administration. Parker started 77 career games at point guard for the Husker men’s basketball team, including all 34 last season. He was a two-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll selection and the 2016 Nebraska Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner for basketball.

Jake Sueflohn (Watertown, Wis.) and Nyle Bartling (Syracuse, Neb.) represented the Nebraska wrestling program at graduation. A four-time NCAA Championships qualifier, Sueflohn was a journalism major at Nebraska and earned academic All-Big Ten honors in 2014. Bartling majored in agricultural economics.

Alicia Armstrong, a four-year starter at shortstop for the Nebraska softball team, earned her bachelor’s degree after majoring in economics at Nebraska. The 2016 senior from Beatrice, Neb., finished her career ranked in the Husker top 10 in four categories, including hits (221) and runs scored (139). She was also a three-time academic All-Big Ten selection and a recipient of a prestigious Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award in 2016.

Bethany Hedley, who was a member of two NCAA Championship teams in bowling for the Huskers, earned her bachelor’s degree as a journalism and advertising and public relations major at Nebraska. Hedley, a 2016 senior from Watford, England, was a three-time NTCA Scholastic All-American and a three-time academic All-Big Ten choice. She was also Nebraska bowling’s winner of a 2016 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

Grant Perdue (Houston, Texas) earned his bachelor’s degree as a marketing major after an impressive career as a men’s gymnast at Nebraska. An All-American on both floor exercise and vault during his Husker career, Perdue earned academic All-Big Ten honors in his final season of competition in 2014.

Jordyn Beck (Overland Park, Kan.) earned her bachelor’s degree as a nutrition, exercise and health science major to represent the Nebraska women’s gymnastics team. Beck earned academic All-Big Ten honors in her only season of competition in 2014. She was a three-time member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

Mackenna Maddox-Herr rounded out the list of Husker summer graduates. Maddox-Herr (McKinney, Texas) was one of the top competitors for the Nebraska women’s tennis program the past two seasons. She earned her bachelor’s degree as a geography major after earning academic All-Big Ten honors and being named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2016. She also claimed a prestigious Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award in 2015.

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 (325) and NCAA Today’s Top Ten Award winners (17) across all sports.

August 2016 Nebraska Student-Athlete Graduates (12)
Student-Athlete, Sport (Hometown) Major
Alicia Armstrong, Softball (Beatrice, Neb.) Economics
Nyle Bartling, Wrestling (Syracuse, Neb.) Agricultural Economics
Jordyn Beck, Women's Gymnastics (Overland Park, Kan.) Nutrition, Exercise & Health Science
Meghan Haggerty, Volleyball (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) Marketing
Bethany Hedley, Bowling (Watford, England) Journalism/Advertising & Public Relations
Mackenna Maddox-Herr, Women’s Tennis (McKinney, Texas) Geography
Alonzo Moore, Football (Winnfield, La). Sociology
Benny Parker, Men’s Basketball (Kansas City, Kan.) Business Administration
Grant Perdue, Men’s Gymnastics (Houston, Texas) Marketing
Michael Rose-Ivey, Football (Kansas City, Mo.) Sociology
Jake Sueflohn, Wrestling (Watertown, Wis.) Journalism
Corey Whitaker, Football (Murrieta, Calif.) Business Administration