Michigan State University Athletics
Gregory Kelser Named Commencement Speaker
Gregory Kelser Named Commencement Speaker
Spartan All-American to speak May 8th.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Gregory Kelser, an All-American turned sports analyst, is Michigan State University's 1998 spring commencement speaker for undergraduates Friday, May 8, at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center.
Kelser, whose academic and athletic achievements have made him a well-known success in the business world, will address undergraduates at a campuswide convocation at 1 p.m. In addition, the Farmington Hills, Mich., native will receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree.
Kelser, a 1981 MSU graduate in criminal justice, has a 13-year record of successful radio and television broadcasting of more than 800 basketball games at every level. He is currently a sportscaster for the Detroit Pistons games, college basketball on ESPN Plus and the Tom Izzo Show.
While at MSU he was named an Academic All-American in 1979, named to the Academic All Big Ten Conference in 1979 and received the Top Five Award given annually to the nation's top five student-athletes for superior achievements in academics and sports in 1980. He played basketball for four years at MSU, from 1975 to 1979. His No. 32 jersey, now retired, hangs from the rafters of the Jack Breslin Student Events Center.
Kelser, a star forward on MSU's 1979 national championship basketball team, was named to the university's Hall of Fame in 1996. He was a first-round draft pick of the Detroit Pistons in 1979. He played professionally with the Detroit Pistons, Seattle Supersonics, San Diego Clippers and Indiana Pacers until 1985.
He has served as a sports analyst for CBS sports, RayCom Sports, Prime Sports Network, Pro Am Sports Systems, ABC, Creative Sports, Black Entertainment Television and was a sports columnist for the Sports Fan Journal in Troy.
Kelser organized and promoted the Summer 1990 Alumni Game to raise funds for the Young Men's Christian Associations in Lansing and Ann Arbor and directed free summer basketball clinics for inner-city Detroit youth. He served as a member of the Big Fellas Association board of directors and received the Big Fellas Assistance in Community Service Award in 1988-89. He also has been a career day and motivational speaker for Detroit Public Schools.
He has received numerous citations for individual service in the community; charities include the March of Dimes, Special Olympics, United Way, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Black United Fund and the American Cancer Society.
The Detroit Henry Ford High School graduate has also been a guest at MSU's basketball camps.