Phillips Receives University's Highest Academic Honor

OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss rifle senior Casey Phillips was recently selected as a Taylor Medalist at the University of Mississippi’s 65th Honors Day Convocation held at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts on the Oxford campus.

Named after Marcus Elvis Taylor, the memorial medals for academic excellence are the university’s highest academic award. Phillips was selected along with 46 fellow students for the honor. The Taylor Medals, established in 1904, recognizes no more than 1 percent of the student body each year.

“I could not be prouder of Casey. She is the first player we’ve had to receive such a prestigious academic award,” said Ole Miss rifle head coach Valerie Boothe. “She’s been in the program for so long and we’ve been thrilled to have her over the years. She’s set the bar high. I believe she is someone others can look to as a fantastic representative of our program. She’s paved the way for others to strive for an equal level academically.”

“I am extremely honored to win this award. It has been a goal of mine for years now and it’s cool to finally be able to achieve it,” said Phillips, a native of Clanton, Ala. “I give all the credit to God, who gave me the talent to learn and understand the material well. This has been such a humbling experience. This is truly a goal I don’t believe I could have accomplished on my own.”

Phillips, a two-time team captain, earned second-team ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District honors in 2007 and holds a perfect 4.0 GPA in journalism. She was along recently named the Ole Miss nominee for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship. The H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship has been presented by the Southeastern Conference since 1986 to the league's top male and female scholar-athletes.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related Videos