Todd Edwards - Staff Directory - Michigan State University Athletics

Staff Directory

Todd Edwards

Title:
Executive Director/Student-Athlete Support Services
Email:
Phone:
355-6607

In his 22nd year at MSU and 37th year overall in intercollegiate athletics, Todd Edwards is in his ninth year as the Executive Director of Student-Athlete Support Services. This appointment followed a long stint serving as Director of Academic Services for Student-Athletes as well as head academic coordinator for the Spartan football program. He oversees academic services for MSU’s 23 varsity sport programs, which includes detailed monitoring of degree progress and eligibility. The SASS unit also coordinates career services and community outreach for all Spartan student-athletes.

Over the last 20-plus seasons (2004-24), Spartan football has produced 442 Academic All-Big Ten selections, including a program-record 45 in 2021. MSU had a Big Ten-best 18 Academic All-Big Ten selections in 2005, and 17 during MSU’s Big Ten and Rose Bowl Championship season in 2013. During that time, the Spartans have also had 11 selections to the Academic All-America team. Edwards played an integral role in helping more than 240 student-athletes graduate under former MSU head coach Mark Dantonio, who retired in February 2020 as the winningest coach in the history of the program and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2024.

Overall, Spartan student-athletes have performed at an increasingly high level over the past decade, highlighted by the fact that the department has posted 29 consecutive semesters over a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average.

Michigan State student-athletes capped a record-breaking year in the classroom in 2024-25 by posting the highest cumulative GPA in department history for the second consecutive semester. After achieving a previous record of 3.4324 in the fall of 2024, the department topped that mark with a 3.4716 in the spring semester. In addition, the 2025 spring semester GPA of 3.4173 was the second-best semester in history, just shy of the record 3.4616 in the fall. MSU Athletics has now posted 25 straight semesters over a 3.0 semester GPA. The impressive academic year also saw every team finish the spring with both semester and cumulative GPAs above 3.0 for the second consecutive semester.

The all-time department high cumulative GPA of 3.4716 marked the 29th straight semester over a 3.0. Nine teams (men’s basketball, field hockey, football, hockey, rowing, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s track and field and wrestling) posted their highest cumulative GPA in program history, while four more programs (baseball, women’s basketball, men’s soccer, volleyball) recorded their highest post-spring cumulative GPA. Four teams delivered their best-ever spring semester GPA (men’s basketball, football, men’s track and field, wrestling) and two posted their highest semester of either term in program history (field hockey and women’s soccer).

Individually, 516 students (83 percent of the student-athlete population) finished spring 2025 with a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher. For the semester, 125 students earned a perfect 4.0 GPA – second highest of all time – among the 486 students who earned a 3.0 or higher GPA for the term.

In addition, 391 student-athletes were recognized on the Academic All-Big Ten team in 2024-25, including 14 honorees with perfect 4.0 GPAs in the fall, and 155 earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors.

Edwards coordinated several events celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athletic Academic Center in 2023-24. Since its opening in 1998, the cumulative GPA of the department has risen from 2.87 to its current record GPA of 3.4716.

On a national level, Michigan State student-athletes once again demonstrated their excellence in the classroom as the Spartans posted a four-year Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) of 80%, according to data released by the NCAA on Nov. 20, 2024. The 80% ties the second highest mark for the department, just one percentage point behind 81% in 2023, and marks the fourth straight year at 80% or better. MSU’s Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 91% is just one percent below the school’s all-time high of 92%. The data includes the 2014-15 to 2017-18 freshman cohorts for the four-year totals and 2017-18 for the single-year rate.

Michigan State’s four-year FGR (80%) ranks third in the Big Ten and eighth among Power 5 conference peers, ranking fourth among public institutions in that group. Three sports posted a perfect four-year FGR of 100%, including women’s soccer, men’s tennis, and volleyball. An additional 10 programs earned a four-year FGR that ranked in the Top 20 among Power 5 conference peers, including six in the Top Six. The single-year FGR of 83% is the second-highest mark in department history.

The student-athletes’ success in the classroom closely mirrors the academic achievements of MSU’s student body. Of the Power 5 public institutions with an all-student FGR of 80% or more, Michigan State is one of just four whose student-athletes also had a rate of at least 80%. In fact, Spartan student-athletes posted the closest differential to the student body.

Eight sports posted a perfect 100% GSR, including women’s golf, gymnastics, women’s soccer, softball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, women’s track & field/cross country, and volleyball.
The FGR is the proportion of first-year, full-time student-athletes who entered a school on athletics aid and graduated from that institution within six years. This federal rate does not account for students who transfer from their original institution and graduate elsewhere. The GSR formula removes from the rate student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible and includes student-athletes who transfer to a school after initially enrolling elsewhere. This calculation provides a more accurate look at student-athlete success.

Michigan State has placed three student-athletes in the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Class (Kirk Cousins in 2011; Max Bullough in 2013; Mike Sadler in 2014) during Edwards’ tenure, and Spartan football players have earned Academic All-America honors 11 times since his arrival in 2004, most recently in 2018 as Cole Chewins garnered All-America accolades for the second consecutive year. Sadler, MSU’s first four-time Academic All-American, was a finalist for the 2014 William V. Campbell Trophy (nation’s top scholar-athlete). Bullough also earned first-team Academic All-America accolades in 2013 following his second-team selection in 2012. In 2009, Blair White became the program’s first Academic All-America First Team selection since 1993 with his 3.89 GPA in human biology. Two other former Spartan leaders, center Chris Morris and quarterback Drew Stanton, also received second-team Academic All-America accolades in 2005. In addition, seven Spartans (Stanton, White, Cousins, Sadler, Jack Allen, Josiah Price and Khari Willis) have earned the Big Ten’s highest award, the Conference Medal of Honor, for outstanding athletic and academic achievement.

Prior to arriving in East Lansing, Edwards served as academic coordinator for the football program at Colorado State (1998-2004). During his time there, the Rams had 78 Academic All-Conference selections as well as six Academic All-America picks. The Rams also enjoyed considerable success on the field, winning three Mountain West Conference titles (1999, 2000, 2002) and earning five consecutive bowl bids (1999-2003).

From 1989-97, Edwards coached football in various positions at Southern Illinois, Colorado State, Oklahoma, South Dakota Tech and Westmar (Iowa).

A native of Stroud, Oklahoma, Edwards earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics in 1989 from Tabor College (Kansas), where he was a three-year starter as a defensive lineman. He holds an M. Ed. in education and human resource studies from Colorado State University. Edwards is a member of the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A) where he formerly served on the Board of Directors as Region III Director. He’s also a member of the National Football Foundation.

Edwards is married to the former Kari Clifford of Sioux City, Iowa, and they have five children.