Making Headlines

At Southeast, we know there’s no limit to what our students, faculty and staff can do. They prove it every day.

Historically, we have always been home to those who are driven to do, and we applaud our collective achievements since 1873. Here, we take a moment to recognize just a few of our recent successes, once again demonstrating the sky’s the limit with the will to do.

By the Numbers

  • 3X

    National Debate Champions

  • 10X

    Missouri Cyber Defense State Champions

    For the tenth consecutive year, the Southeast Missouri State Cyber Defense Team won the 2022 Missouri Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC), besting 14 other Missouri teams.

  • ONLY

    University In Missouri

    To be accredited in all four areas of art, dance, music, and theatre.

Among the best regional universities in the Midwest for 2022-2023 according to U.S. News & World Report.
Southeast is ranked as the 26th best public school and 89th best regional university in the Midwest. Southeast has been consistently ranked by U.S. News since 1993. Southeast was also listed among the top performers on social mobility for regional Midwestern universities, recognizing its success at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students who have been awarded Pell Grants.

Among the best colleges in the Midwest according to The Princeton Reviewâ. Southeast was named one of only 158 colleges in 12 states that The Princeton Review chose for its "Best in the Midwest" list for 2023. 

Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and 80 percent of our academic programs hold specific accreditations with various accrediting bodies around the nation.

 

Noteable Achievements

  • A Yamaha Institution of Excellence.

    This designation benchmarks Southeast among the world’s finest performing arts institutions and as a premier location to practice and perform on the world’s finest acoustic and expressive instruments.

  • OnStage Blog Names Southeast to 'Best College Theatre Programs in Every State'

    Theatre website OnStage Blog recognized Southeast in its Best College Theatre Programs in Every State list for 2021.The ranking reflects the mission of The Jeanine Larson Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance as a professional training and liberal arts program providing diverse technique training, professional quality productions, career preparation and a liberal arts education.

  • An Apple Distinguished School.

    This designation recognizes Southeast’s College of Education, Health, and Human Studies through 2025 for its integration of Apple technology through the University’s EDvolution® Center.

  • EDvolution® Recognition

    In March 2022, Southeast was awarded the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s 2022 Best Practice Award for Innovative Use of Technology. Southeast’s Educator Preparation Program, within the College of Education, Health and Human Studies, was recognized for its implementation of EDvolution®.

The Arrow

2022 recipient of the David L. Adams Apple Award for Best Newspaper among four-year schools with over 10,000 students.
This award was presented to Southeast’s Arrow student newspaper during the College Media Association's Spring National College Media Conference.

First-place honor for The Arrow student newspaper in the Best Overall Newspaper category for mid-size four-year schools at the 2022 Missouri College Media Association’s Conference.

 

National Recognitions

  • A National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

    This designation makes Southeast one of only three four-year institutions in Missouri to hold this honor and one of just 250 nationally. The recognition also places Southeast’s cybersecurity program in esteemed company as an elite program preparing graduates for top-tier positions among industry leaders needing a highly qualified, cyber savvy workforce.

  • Southeast recognized in 2022 by the Greater St. Louis Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) with the Cosmos Award

    for supporting local Scouting programs through the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) camps and providing leadership to the Scout’s executive board

  • Southeast awarded the 2022-2023 Military Friendly® Gold designation

    for the second consecutive year, honoring the University's commitment to continuously innovating processes and procedures to make them more student-centered. Southeast is listed among the nation’s top higher education institutions for setting the standard to provide the best opportunities for veterans and their spouses.

Greek Life

Southeast’s Phi Kappa Phi Recognized as Circle of Excellence Gold Chapter for 2021-2022
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi – the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines – recognized the Southeast Missouri State University chapter of Phi Kappa Phi as a 2021-2022 Circle of Excellence Gold Chapter, the second-highest commendation a chapter can receive from the organization. The award is given to chapters that exceed expectations in chapter operations and that demonstrate sustainability and vitality as a chapter of Phi Kappa Phi. The Circle of Excellence Award Program recognizes chapters for their work in promoting excellence at their institutions and engaging the community of scholars each year.

Sigma Nu honored in 2022 by the North American Interfraternity Conference as one of the top 10 fraternities in the nation. Additionally, Logan Phillips, former Student Government President and a member of Sigma Nu, was recognized by North American Interfraternity Conference as one of the top 12 fraternity men from across the nation.

Southeast’s Phi Mu chapter of Tri Delta honored with the Margaret Paddock Haller Award during Tri Delta’s 2022 Collegiate Leadership Conference (CLC) in Dallas, Texas. The award is presented to chapters that show overall excellence, growth and innovation across all areas of chapter operations.

Athletics

As of January 2023, Southeast now holds 66 Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) regular-season titles and 23 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament titles in 31 years in the OVC.

In 2020-2021, SEMO claimed its first-ever OVC Commissioner's Cup, the league's ultimate symbol of overall athletic excellence in Conference-sponsored championships. SEMO completed that remarkable campaign with a 93-42-1 (.688) record in conference regular-season play, its highest OVC regular-season winning percentage in school history. The Redhawks were also the only OVC school that qualified for every conference championship event in 2020-2021, the best season in SEMO’s NCAA Division I history.

Former Southeast Missouri women's volleyball coach and administrator Cindy Gannon was inducted into the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame in June 2022. Gannon served Southeast Missouri for over 30 years, including 16 seasons as head volleyball coach and an additional 14 years as the department’s Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Senior Woman Administrator. She is SEMO's first female coach and administrator to be inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame.

Tennis

Women's Tennis won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship, earning the league's automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Tournament, its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament for Women's Tennis.

Football

In March 2022, Southeast Athletic Director Brady Barke was one of four recipients in the Football Championship Subdivision to receive the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Cushman and Wakefield Athletic Director of the Year award.

Southeast broke ground Sept. 6, 2022, for the first phase of a new transformational Houck multiuse complex. The first phase calls for construction and replacement of the south sideline and grandstand of Houck Field as well as new seating, turf, concession stands, restrooms, ADA access and associated HVAC, mechanical and other systems work. Phase one anticipated completion date is August 2023. The full Houck Project will also offer improved and much-needed academic spaces. The Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education has recommended funding for a proposed Health Sciences Building as part of the dual-role, multi-use complex, and that project has been forwarded to Gov. Mike Parson for considered inclusion in the FY2024 state budget.

The football Redhawks finished a magical 2022 season, finishing 9-3 overall and undefeated (5-0) in OVC play. The Redhawks advanced to the NCAA FCS Playoffs for the third time in five years and posted their fourth nine-win season in program history. 

Southeast Missouri Head Football Coach Tom Matukewicz was named the 2022 OVC Roy Kidd Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. Matukewicz guided the Redhawks to their third nine-win season and FCS Playoff appearance in five years. SEMO won its second OVC title with Matukewicz at the helm. 

Southeast Missouri running back Geno Hess was named OVC Offensive Player of the Year for 2022. Hess broke the SEMO and OVC single-game rushing record with 317 yards and the OVC career scoring record (330 points) in the playoffs. His 138 points in 2022 were the second-most in OVC single-season history. Hess was named to three All-America Teams -- the American Football Coaches Association’s (AFCA) 2022 Football Championship Subdivision Coaches' All-America Team in addition to the Stats Perform and Associated Press squads.

Baseball

Capaha Field has been modernized with new synthetic turf, digital video scoreboard, fencing and a digital scoreboard as part of a $1.8 million project. Additionally, a new baseball training facility has been added adjacent to the field that accommodates four cages and portable pitching mounds, and features HitTrax and Rapsodo technology, providing real-time stats and performance metrics.

In 2022, the baseball Redhawks claimed their second-straight OVC Tournament crown. The Redhawks advanced to the NCAA Regional, making their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time in program history. The Redhawks finished 37-22, breaking single-season school records in home runs (97), home victories (23) and come-from-behind wins (26). The 37 wins tied for second-most in a season in program history.

Track and Field

Logan Blomquist captured the 2022 NCAA Hammer Throw National Championship and is Southeast Missouri track & field's first-ever NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships title in program history. Blomquist, the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Male Field Athlete of the Year and Hammer Throw Champion, won the National Championship with a career-best mark of 240-8 (73.37m). Blomquist was named a 2022 First-Team All-American for his National Championship performance.

Student Athletes

163 Southeast Missouri student-athletes were named to the Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2021-22 academic year. Additionally, 38 Southeast Missouri student-athletes claimed OVC Academic Medals of Honor for the 2021-22 academic year, the second most behind Eastern Illinois (46).

The Redhawks gymnastics team ranked seventh among the nation's top Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) academic teams for GPA for the 2021-2022 season, posting a 3.7582 GPA with 16 of its student-athletes named Scholastic All-Americans. 

Southeast Missouri's Department of Athletics continued to excel in the classroom in Fall 2022, registering a 3.36 grade point average, its highest fall GPA in seven years. Eleven different teams recorded a GPA of 3.1 or better.

 

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