National Alumnus of the Year
2026 National Alumnus of the Year Award Recipient
Mike McDaniel, class of 1979
Mike McDaniel, of Houston, Texas, will be honored by Mississippi State University as its National Alumnus of the Year during the MSU Alumni Association 2026 Awards Banquet on Friday, April 17.
A native of Cleveland, McDaniel graduated from MSU in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and started his career with Dow Chemical at their Freeport, Texas, complex. He advanced rapidly over 10 years at Dow, and then bought Electrical Controller Products, or ECP, a specialty electrical distributor in Houston tied to the petrochemical industry.
Under his guidance, ECP grew quickly. By 1991, he and his company launched ECP Tech Services, which did high-voltage electrical testing and construction. The wholly owned subsidiary soon grew to be the largest and most successful of its kind in the South, with five offices in two states.
In 2008, ECP Tech Services was sold to Square D Company. Since that time, McDaniel has founded, grown and sold another company: Saber Power, a Houston giant in the electrical world as well.
The lessons and skills he learned at MSU have been critical to McDaniel’s business success. A proud second-generation MSU mechanical engineering graduate, his father, George O. McDaniel Jr., graduated with a BSME from MSU in 1949. The George O. McDaniel Jr. endowed scholarship in mechanical engineering was established to help support future generations of Mississippi students.
McDaniel is married to Laura Moreton McDaniel, and they are tremendous supporters of a broad array of MSU programs, including engineering, study abroad and the U.S. Grant Presidential Library. They have four children and three grandchildren.
McDaniel said being named MSU’s 2026 Alumnus of the Year is an honor he had never expected or imagined he would receive, and is humbly grateful for this recognition from a place he calls home.
“We are delighted to honor Mike McDaniel on behalf of Mississippi State University for his outstanding professional achievements and dedication to his alma mater,” said Jeff Davis, executive director of the MSU Alumni Association. “Mike embodies the spirit of the Bulldog community, and his remarkable accomplishments highlight the commitment and excellence that MSU proudly fosters in its graduates.”
Past Recipients
- 1958 - John C. Stennis
- 1959 - Ben F. Hilbun
- 1960 - Owen Cooper
- 1961 - John T. Caldwell
- 1962 - Troy H. Middleton
- 1963 - Harry C. Simrall
- 1964 - Charles S. Whittington
- 1965 - James Roger Hull
- 1966 - Turner Catledge
- 1967 - Boswell Stevens
- 1968 - R. D. Williams
- 1969 - Donald H. Echols
- 1970 - Jim Buck Ross
- 1971 - James N. McArthur
- 1972 - George D. Perry
- 1973 - E. B. McCool
- 1974 - Cully A. Cobb
- 1975 - Jack D. Cook
- 1976 - Henry H. Leveck
- 1977 - William C. Warner
- 1978 - G. V. "Sonny" Montgomery
- 1979 - Billy W. Howard
- 1980 - Paul E. Gregory
- 1981 - J. C. Redd
- 1982 - Jerry Clower
- 1983 - Leo W. Seal, Jr.
- 1984 - K. Ramsay O'Neal
- 1985 - H. Devon Graham, Jr.
- 1986 - Eugene Butler
- 1987 - Paul B. Jacob, Jr.
- 1988 - Hunter W. Henry, Jr.
- 1989 - Frederic F. Mellen
- 1990 - Robert Maxson
- 1991 - Joe Frank Sanderson, Sr.
- 1992 - Dave C. Swalm
- 1993 - Rafael L. Callejas
- 1994 - John R. Grisham, Jr.
- 1995 - Hassell H. Franklin
- 1996 - James K. Ashford
- 1997 - James E. Garrison
- 1998 - W. G. "Mickey" Holliman, Jr.
- 1999 - Bobby P. Martin
- 2000 - George W. Bryan
- 2001 - James R. "Jimmy Dick" Carter
- 2002 - Charles W. "Tex" Ritter
- 2003 - Will D. Carpenter
- 2004 - Sidney L. "Sid" Salter
- 2005 - Charles E. "Charlie" Weatherly
- 2006 - Dr. Richard E. Holmes
- 2007 - Louis A. Hurst
- 2008 - Bobby Shackouls
- 2009 - James W. "Jim" Bagley
- 2010 - Roy H. Ruby
- 2011 - Richard C. Adkerson
- 2012 - James J. "Jim" Rouse
- 2013 - George Thomas "Tommy" Everett III
- 2014 - Michael W. “Mike” Sanders
- 2015 - E.W. "Earnie" Deavenport
- 2016 - Turner A. Wingo
- 2017 - Herbert V. "Herb" Johnson
- 2018 - Dr. R. L. Qualls
- 2019 - Richard A. Rula
- 2020 - Danny E. Hossley
- 2021 - Janice I. Nicholson
- 2022 - Randy J. Cleveland
- 2023 - Albert C. Clark
- 2024 - Bryan Wilson
- 2025 - Hal Parker
