Missouri Tigers football

Missouri Tigers football
Missouri Tigers football
	2024 Missouri Tigers football team
First season	1890
Athletic director	Laird Veatch
Head coach	Eliah Drinkwitz ; 4th season, 28–21 (.571)
Stadium	Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium; (capacity: 62,621)
Field	Faurot Field
Field surface	AstroTurf RootZone 3D3
Location	Columbia, Missouri
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern
Past conferences	WIUFA; (1892–1897); Missouri Valley; (1907–1927); Big Eight; (1928–1995); Big 12; (1996–2011)
All-time record	727–599–52 (.546)
Bowl record	16–20 (.444)
Unclaimed national titles	2 (1960, 2007)
Conference titles	15; (3 WIUFA, 12 Big Eight)
Division titles	5; Big 12 North:; 2007, 2008, 2010 ; SEC East:; 2013, 2014
Rivalries	Oklahoma (rivalry); Kansas (rivalry); Arkansas (rivalry); Nebraska (rivalry); Illinois (rivalry); Iowa State (rivalry);
Consensus All-Americans	14
Current uniform
Colors	Old gold and black;
Fight song	Every True Son, Fight Tiger
Mascot	Truman the Tiger
Marching band	Marching Mizzou
Outfitter	Nike
Website	mutigers.com

The Missouri Tigers football program represents the University of Missouri (often referred to as Mizzou) in college football and competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Missouri's football program dates back to 1890, and has appeared in 36 bowl games (including 11 New Year's Six bowl appearances: four Orange Bowls, four Cotton Bowls, two Sugar Bowls, and one Fiesta Bowl). Missouri has won 15 conference titles and 5 division titles, and has two national-championship selections recognized by the NCAA. Entering the 2024 season, Missouri's all-time record is 727–599–52 (.547).^[3]

Since 2012, Missouri has been a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC)^[4] and competes in the Eastern Division. Home games are played at Faurot Field ("The Zou") in Columbia, Missouri, named for hall of fame coach Don Faurot.

Hall of famer Gary Pinkel, coach from 2001 to 2015, has the most wins in Missouri football history, setting that mark with his 102nd win in the AT&T Cotton Bowl on January 3, 2014.^[5] Pinkel's record with Mizzou after his final game on November 27, 2015, is 118–73 (.618).

Since the 2020 football season, the team has been coached by Eliah Drinkwitz.

History

Conference affiliations

Independent (1890–1892)
Western Interstate University Football Association (1892–1897)
Independent (1898–1906)
Big Eight Conference (1907–1995)
- Missouri Valley 1907–1927, unofficially called Big Six 1928–1947, Big Seven 1947–1957 and Big Eight 1957–1964
Big 12 Conference (1996–2011)
Southeastern Conference (2012–present)

Championships

The Missouri Tigers have 15 conference championships and five conference division titles.^[6]

National championships

The Tigers were selected as national champions by NCAA-designated major selectors in 1960 and 2007. Neither championship is claimed by the university.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10] ^[11]

Season	Coach	Selectors	Record	Final AP	Final Coaches
1960	Dan Devine	Poling System	11–0†	No. 5	No. 4
2007	Gary Pinkel	Anderson & Hester	12–2	No. 4	No. 5

† The 1960 record was 10–1, but was later changed to 11–0 due to Kansas' subsequent forfeit ^[12]

Conference championships

Missouri has won 15 conference championships.

Year	Conference	Coach	Overall Record	Conference Record
1893†	WIUFA	H.O. Robinson	4–3	2–1
1894†		H.O. Robinson	4–3	2–1
1895†		C.D. Bliss	7–1	2–1
1909	Big Eight	William Roper	7–0–1	4–0–1
1913		Chester Brewer	7–1	4–0
1919		John F. Miller	5–1–2	4–0–1
1924		Gwinn Henry	7–2	5–1
1925			6–1–1	5–1
1927			7–2	5–1
1939		Don Faurot	8–2	5–0
1941			8–2	5–0
1942			8–3–1	4–0–1
1945		Chauncey Simpson	6–4	5–0
1960‡		Dan Devine	11–0	7–0
1969†		Dan Devine	9–2	6–1

† Co-champions
‡ The 1960 Big Eight title was retroactively awarded after a loss to Kansas was reversed due to Kansas' use of a player who was later ruled to be ineligible.^[13]^[14]

Division championships

The Tigers were previously members of the Big 12 North division between its inception in 1996 and the dissolution of conference divisions within the Big 12 in 2011. The Tigers joined the SEC as members of the SEC East starting in 2012. Missouri has won five division championships.

Season	Division	Coach	Opponent	CG Result
2007†	Big 12 North	Gary Pinkel	Oklahoma	L 17–38
2008†			Oklahoma	L 21–62
2010†			N/A lost tiebreaker to Nebraska
2013	SEC East		Auburn	L 42–59
2014	SEC East		Alabama	L 13–42

† Co-champion

Bowl games

Missouri has appeared in 36 bowl games, including 11 New Year's Six bowl appearances: 4 Orange Bowls, 4 Cotton Bowls, 2 Sugar Bowls, and 1 Fiesta Bowl, with an all-time bowl record of 16–20.^[15] The team also accepted a bid to the 2020 Music City Bowl against Iowa, which was subsequently canceled due to COVID-19.^[16]

Missouri's entire bowl history is shown in the table below.^[17]

Season	Coach	Bowl	Opponent	Result
1924	Gwinn Henry	Los Angeles Christmas Festival	USC	L 7–20
1939	Don Faurot	Orange Bowl	Georgia Tech	L 7–21
1941	Don Faurot	Sugar Bowl	Fordham	L 0–2
1945	Chauncey Simpson	Cotton Bowl Classic	Texas	L 27–40
1948	Don Faurot	Gator Bowl	Clemson	L 23–24
1949	Don Faurot	Gator Bowl	Maryland	L 7–20
1959	Dan Devine	Orange Bowl	Georgia	L 0–14
1960		Orange Bowl	Navy	W 21–14
1962		Bluebonnet Bowl	Georgia Tech	W 14–10
1965		Sugar Bowl	Florida	W 20–18
1968		Gator Bowl	Alabama	W 35–10
1969		Orange Bowl	Penn State	L 3–10
1972	Al Onofrio	Fiesta Bowl	Arizona State	L 35–49
1973	Al Onofrio	Sun Bowl	Auburn	W 34–17
1978	Warren Powers	Liberty Bowl	LSU	W 20–15
1979		Hall of Fame Classic	South Carolina	W 24–14
1980		Liberty Bowl	Purdue	L 25–28
1981		Tangerine Bowl	Southern Miss	W 19–17
1983		Holiday Bowl	BYU	L 17–21
1997	Larry Smith	Holiday Bowl	Colorado State	L 24–35
1998	Larry Smith	Insight.com Bowl	West Virginia	W 34–31
2003	Gary Pinkel	Independence Bowl	Arkansas	L 14–27
2005		Independence Bowl	South Carolina	W 38–31
2006		Sun Bowl	Oregon State	L 38–39
2007		Cotton Bowl Classic	Arkansas	W 38–7
2008		Alamo Bowl	Northwestern	W 30–23^OT
2009		Texas Bowl	Navy	L 13–35
2010		Insight Bowl	Iowa	L 24–27
2011		Independence Bowl	North Carolina	W 41–24
2013		Cotton Bowl Classic	Oklahoma State	W 41–31
2014		Citrus Bowl	Minnesota	W 33–17
2017	Barry Odom	Texas Bowl	Texas	L 16–33
2018	Barry Odom	Liberty Bowl	Oklahoma State	L 33–38
2021	Eli Drinkwitz	Armed Forces Bowl	Army	L 22–24
2022		Gasparilla Bowl	Wake Forest	L 17–27
2023		Cotton Bowl Classic	Ohio State	W 14–3

Rivalries

Currently active

Arkansas

Missouri and Arkansas first met in 1906 in Columbia, Missouri, and played each other five times prior to Missouri joining the SEC in 2012, and then becoming Arkansas' permanent cross-division rival in 2014. The annual meeting was dubbed the Battle Line Rivalry. On November 23, 2015, a new rivalry trophy was unveiled for the annual game. Missouri leads the series 11-4 as of the conclusion of the 2023 season, which saw the Tigers dominate Arkansas 48-14 in Fayetteville.^{[citation needed]}

Oklahoma

Oklahoma leads the series 67-24–5 through the 2022 season.^[18] From 1940 through 1974, the teams played for the Tiger-Sooner Peace Pipe trophy. The rivalry will be renewed in 2024, as the teams will be members of the same conference again.^[19]

South Carolina

A new rivalry was started in 2012 when Missouri joined the SEC East. With both schools located in cities named Columbia (Columbia, Missouri, and Columbia, South Carolina), the mayors of the cities commemorate the winner with the "Mayor's Cup" trophy for the annual game. Missouri leads the series 9-5 as of the conclusion of the 2023 season.

Historic

Kansas

Missouri leads the series with Kansas 57–54–9 through the 2021 season.^{[citation needed]} With history dating back to Bleeding Kansas in the 1850s, the "Border War" rivalry was well-known as one of the longest-lasting and fiercest rivalries in college sports. The teams met annually, traditionally for the final game of the regular season, from 1891 through 2011 when Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC.^[20] The series is set to renew in 2025.^[21]

Illinois

The rivalry between Missouri and Illinois is modeled after the two schools' longstanding basketball rivalry, and it garners the most interest around St. Louis, with both schools having alumni and fans in the area. It has not been played annually, with 24 matchups occurring from 1896 to 2010, with Missouri leading the series 17–7.^{[citation needed]} Between 2000 and 2010, the schools met in St. Louis six times, with Missouri winning each time. In 2026, the series will be renewed for a four-year period, to be played on campus sites.

Iowa State

Missouri and Iowa State first met in 1896 and the regional rivalry was born. Before the 1959 match-up between the two schools, which took place in Ames, Iowa, field testing showed that the telephones the two schools used to communicate with their coaches in the coaches' box were wired so that either school could hear what was happening on the other sideline. The problem was fixed before the game, but neither of the two coaches knew that. Northwestern Bell Telephone Company of Ames then decided to have a trophy made to commemorate the incident, thus the Telephone Trophy was born.^[22]^[23] When Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC, the rivalry was essentially ended. Missouri leads the series with Iowa State 61–34–9 through the 2022 season.^{[citation needed]}