Steve Burkholder: Helping Mississippi State Soccer Keep The Student In Student-Athlete

STARKVILLE — At 8 a.m. on the morning of each Mississippi State soccer home game, a single chair sits on the hill overlooking the MSU Soccer Field. That chair belongs to one of the Bulldogs' biggest fans, Steve Burkholder.

Burkholder is not just a supporter of the team on the athletic side. Burkholder serves as the academic advisor for the women's soccer at State and plays a pivotal role in the Bulldogs' success off the field. With his guidance, the student athletes are given the tools they need to be champions both on the pitch and in the classroom.

"Watching the Bulldogs in 2024 was the most gratifying experience, seeing where the team started to where they are now was truly incredible," Burkholder said.

Burkholder's primary job is ensuring student-athletes meet the academic requirements to stay eligible to play — but his impact extends well beyond his job description. His office in the Templeton Athletic Academic Center is a revolving door of student-athletes coming in to talk about anything from sports and music but most importantly, life.

"He's someone anyone can go to whenever we're having a hard time," said senior defender Rylie Combs. "He brings the light to our team."

Burkholder knows the life of a student-athlete himself. While studying at Rutgers University in New Jersey, he was a member of the track and field team. When Burkholder graduated, he was not sure what he wanted to do with his degree.

Through a student-athlete development program called City Year, Burkholder began working with low-resource high schools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His experience with the program led him to explore potential career paths in education.

"I didn't think teaching was what I wanted to do, but I enjoyed the educational aspect," Burkholder said. "Looking back on my experience as a student-athlete, I thought that would be a great opportunity to work with students who were in the same situation that I was in."

Leaving behind his northern roots, Burkholder found a graduate assistant role at the University of Arkansas in athlete academics, where he worked for two years while getting his masters degree in education. While there, he fell in love with the South and started looking for a job at a school in the Southeastern Conference.

It was not long before Burkholder landed a job as an academic advisor at Mississippi State, where he currently works with the women's soccer team. It was not until this job that he would find his passion for the game of soccer.

Since Burkholder joined the staff in 2020, he has witnessed firsthand the growth and success of Mississippi State soccer.

While Burkholder is a huge supporter of the players' work in the classroom, he is also one of the team's biggest fans on the field. Having only missed three soccer home games in his five seasons at State, his presence in the stands does not go unnoticed by the team.

Assistant coach Kat Stratton said that Burkholder's support is vital to the success of the team beyond the soccer pitch.

"Because Steve takes so much pride in the team on the field, they can take pride in things off the field," Stratton said.

In his role at State, Burkholder works extremely hard during registration periods to make sure all student-athletes are placed in classes that they will not only excel in but enjoy too.

Every week, he meets with soccer coaching staff to keep them in the loop on how the team is doing academically. In addition, Burkholder works with each athlete closely to ensure travel arrangements are taken care of and coordinates any assignments and exams that students could potentially miss while out of town for competition.

One of the main things that Burkholder enjoys about working with the team is seeing student-athletes find something that they are passionate about, regardless of whether they have aspirations to play professional soccer or plan to enter the workforce after receiving their degree.

"No matter what path a student athlete wants to take, helping them find that and helping them reach their goal is the most rewarding," Burkholder said.

For the most up-to-date information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU women's soccer on X, like them on Facebook, and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateSoc."

– HailState.com –

Mississippi State University Athletics

Steve Burkholder: Helping Mississippi State Soccer Keep The Student In Student-Athlete

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