Academic Services for Student-Athletes provides academic, personal, and career support programs that foster the total development of student-athletes. Located in The Joe & Connie Mitchell Academic Enhancement Center, ASSA delivers a comprehensive program on life skills that provides student-athletes with excellent educational experiences. ASSA provides service programs to prepare student-athletes for the demands of a well-balanced lifestyle . ASSA offers the guidance and direction needed to prepare student-athletes for success beyond graduation.

Academic support at OSU begins with a multifaceted program that involves subject tutors, facilitators, learning groups, computer programs, and academic enhancement contracts. The Joe & Connie Mitchell Academic Enhancement Center for student-athletes is a comprehensive learning center that includes a Reading & Writing Center, Math Center, Foreign Language Center, and Assistive Technology Center.

Recent Highlights 

- Five Cowgirls on the OSU softball team were named Academic All-Big 12, with three appearing on the first team and two on the second. Seniors Chelsea Garcia, Sammy Jo Diffendaffer, and Kelsea Schultz were the first-team honorees, while sophomores Tarah Ettinger and Simone Freeman were named to the second team.

- The OSU track and field program had 22 athletes named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team, with 13 Cowgirls named to the women’s first team and nine Cowboys named to the men’s first team. Cowgirl honorees included Alyssa Henrichs and Caitlin Way, both nominated with 4.0 GPAs, along with Mihaela Bobos, Jackie Campos, Caileigh Glenn, Brooke Gritters, Victoria Hanna, Laura Heaton, Kate Kujawa, Jessica Lewis, Teran Mixon, Jessy Murphy and Natalja Piliusina. Making the first team for the men were Raul Botezan, Kirubel Erassa, German Fernandez, Colby Lowe, Taylor Monaghan, Shane Moskowitz, Neal Smith and Nick Thorp. First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA.

- Chelsea Garcia, the shortstop on OSU’s softball team, was named a Capital One Academic All-District VII first-team selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Garcia is the first three-time Academic All-District selection for softball in OSU history.

- Chelsea Garcia, a senior on the OSU softball team, and Krista Lopez, a senior on the OSU soccer team, have been named two of the 10 female finalists for the 2012 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sport Scholar Award. The finalists were chosen from over 600 outstanding minority student-athletes nominated by their respective institutions. The NCAA is a co-sponsor of this annual award, along with Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine.

- OSU’s men’s tennis team had five players named to the Academic All-Big 12 Tennis Team for 2012. Senior Vlad Bondarenko and junior Trevor Horstmann both earned first-team honors with 4.0 GPAs, the only two men’s tennis players with perfect GPAs. Joining them on the first team were senior Eric West and sophomore Brandon Champagne. Sophomore Rifat Biktyakov earned second-team honors. First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, while second team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.

- OSU held its annual Student-Athlete Awards Banquet on Monday, April 16, 2012 honoring hundreds of student-athletes in various academic areas. The highlight of the evening was evening was the announcement of the Female and Male Student-Athletes of the Year. Krista Lopez (soccer), and Colby Lowe (cross country and track and field), received the accolades. Several athletes were named Senior Director’s Chair winners, given annually to the senior on each team who is in his or her last year of athletic eligibility, who has the highest cumulative graduation retention GPA on the team, and is closest to graduation. Those winners included Davis Duren (baseball), Keiton Page (men's basketball), Carolyn Blair-Mobley, (women's basketball), Caroline Daniels, (equestrian), Jamie Blatnick (football), Bernhard Neumann (men's golf), Jocelyn Alford (women's golf), Krista Lopez (soccer), Chelsea Garcia (softball), Eric West (men's tennis), Colby Lowe (men's track), Teran Mixon (women's track), Chris McNeil (wrestling) and Brenna O'Toole (spirit group). Two OSU basketball players, Markel Brown from the men’s team and Toni Young from the women’s team, received the Nate Fleming Award, an honor presented each year to the male and female student-athlete who have overcome personal struggles in their lives by hard-work, determination, and effort to excel not only in their sport, but, more importantly, in the classroom and in life. The last headlining award was the Trip Kuehne Scholarship. Chris McNeil (wrestling) is the first recipient of this scholarship that was established for a Student-Athlete to attend graduate school.

- Eight members of OSU’s golf programs were named to the 2012 Academic All-Big 12 squads including three Cowgirls and five Cowboys. On the women’s side, senior Jocelyn Alford garnered first-team recognition while sophomores Josephine Janson and Jayde Panos were named to the second team. For the Cowboys, senior Bernhard Neumann and junior Drew Page were named to the first team, while Sophomores Ian Davis, Brad Gehl, and Talor Gooch were named to the second team. First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, while second team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.

- Eight members of the OSU equestrian team were named to the 2012 Academic All-Big 12 Equestrian Team by the Big 12 Conference. Jenna Blumer, Caroline Daniels, Christy McElreath, Andrea Robbins, Ali Rose, Ellie Sparks, and Mamie Tomlin were all named to the first team, while Lauren Halvorson was named to the second team. Daniels was one of just two student-athletes named to the team with a 4.00GPA. First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, while second team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.

- Two OSU student-athletes, Krista Lopez (soccer) and Mark Nelson (men’s cross country/track) were recognized as 2012 Outstanding Seniors by the OSU Alumni Association. The Outstanding Senior award recognizes seniors who excel through academic achievement; campus and community activities; academic, athletic, or extra-curricular honors or awards; scholarships and work ethic during their time at OSU.

- Eight OSU student-athletes have earned the second annual Dr. Gerald Lage award for 2012, the Big 12 Conference’s highest academic honor. The conference honor is in memory of Lage, who served as OSU’s faculty athletic representative with the NCAA and the Big Eight/Big 12 Conference from 1983 until his death in 2007. In order to be eligible for the accolade, student-athletes must have lettered at least once in their career while maintaining residence at their institution for at least one academic year. The honoree, which can only be recognized once, should have 100 hours of earned credit with a cumulative GPA of 3.8 at the time of the nomination. The eight OSU recipients for 2012 are: Darnell Bortz (wrestling), Colleen Dougherty (soccer), Chelsea Garcia (softball), Heather Howard (women’s basketball), Krista Lopez (soccer), Amanda Neujahr (equestrian), Kelsea Schultz (softball), and Alice White (equestrian).

- Five OSU wrestlers were honored by the Big 12 for their work in the classroom this year, as they were named to the 2012 Academic All-Big 12 Wrestling Team. Cayle Byers and Elliott Hellwege received recognition as first team honorees, while Dallas Bailey, Chris Perry, and Blake Rosholt were named to the second team.