Missouri Tigers
Encyclopedia
The Missouri Tigers athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

, located in Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...

, United States. The name comes from a band of armed guards called the Missouri Tigers who, in 1864, protected Columbia from Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 guerrillas during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

The University of Missouri (often referred to as Mizzou or MU) is the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 institution of the University of Missouri System. The women's teams are sometimes called the Lady Tigers, but often both the men's and women's teams are simply called the Tigers. Mizzou is a member of the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...

 until July 1, 2012, when they become a member of the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...

, and is the only NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 Football Bowl Subdivision program in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

.

Varsity sports

The Missouri Tigers are represented in the following NCAA Division I varsity sports:
  • Men's sports
    • Baseball
      College baseball
      College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...

    • Basketball
      College basketball
      College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

    • Cross country
      Cross country running
      Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

    • Football
      College football
      College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

    • Golf
      Golf
      Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

    • Swimming
      Swimming (sport)
      Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

       and diving
      Diving
      Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...

    • Track and field
      Track and field
      Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

    • Wrestling
      Collegiate wrestling
      Collegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...


  • Women's sports
    • Basketball
      College basketball
      College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

    • Cross country
      Cross country running
      Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

    • Golf
      Golf
      Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

    • Gymnastics
      Gymnastics
      Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

    • Soccer
      College soccer
      College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...

    • Softball
      Softball
      Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

    • Swimming
      Swimming (sport)
      Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

       and diving
      Diving
      Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...

    • Tennis
      Tennis
      Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

    • Track and field
      Track and field
      Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

    • Volleyball
      Volleyball
      Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...



Football

The university's first football team was formed in 1890 by the sophomore class of the "Academic School" (now the College of Arts and Science). They challenged a team of Engineering students in April of that year upon encouragement of Dr. A. L. McRea, a university professor. Interest in the sport quickly grew among the students, professors, and administrators, and a Foot Ball Association was formed at a meeting on October 10, 1890. The first intercollegiate game for the university took place on Thanksgiving Day, 1890, when Missouri played Washington University before a crowd of 3,000 in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

. The Washington University team, which had already been playing for several years, easily defeated the University of Missouri team by a score of 28–0. Missouri has compiled a 10–14 record in bowl games, and has finished in the final Associated Press poll Top Ten six times since the poll began in 1936.

Men's basketball

The men's basketball program has produced several NBA players, including Anthony Peeler
Anthony Peeler
Anthony Eugene Peeler is a retired American professional basketball player, having played for a number of NBA teams from 1992 to 2005...

, Doug Smith
Doug Smith (basketball)
Douglas Smith is a retired American basketball player who was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1st round of the 1991 NBA Draft. Smith played in five NBA seasons, for the Mavericks and the Boston Celtics and averaged 8.0 ppg in his NBA career...

, Jon Sundvold
Jon Sundvold
Jon Thomas "Sunny" Sundvold is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1st round of the 1983 NBA Draft. A 6'2" shooting guard from the University of Missouri, Sundvold played in 9 NBA seasons from 1983–1992...

, Steve Stipanovich
Steve Stipanovich
Stephen Samuel Stipanovich is a retired American professional basketball player.A 6-ft 11-inch center from the University of Missouri, Stipanovich was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the second pick of the 1983 NBA Draft...

, Kareem Rush
Kareem Rush
Kareem Lamar Rush is an American former professional basketball player who last played at shooting guard with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers...

, Keyon Dooling
Keyon Dooling
Keyon Latwae Dooling is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks.-Basketball career:...

, Linas Kleiza
Linas Kleiza
Linas Kleiza is a Lithuanian professional basketball player with the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association. He is also a member of the Lithuanian national team. He can play either forward position. Kleiza signed a four year, $18.8 million contract prior to the 2010–11 NBA...

, Thomas Gardner
Thomas Gardner (basketball)
Thomas Earl Gardner is an American professional basketball player.A 6'5" guard, Gardner played three seasons of college basketball at the University of Missouri. He was named to the All-Big 12 Third Team in 2006 after averaging 19.7 points per game in 28 games...

, and DeMarre Carroll
DeMarre Carroll
DeMarre LaEdrick Carroll is an American professional basketball player who was drafted 27th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association in the 2009 NBA Draft. Carroll formerly played for the University of Missouri and Vanderbilt University...

. The Tigers were regularly a national power under Norm Stewart
Norm Stewart
Norman E. "Norm)" Stewart is a retired American college basketball coach. He coached at the University of Northern Iowa from 1961 to 1967, but is best known for his career with the University of Missouri from 1967 until 1999. He retired with an overall coaching record of 731-375 in 38 seasons...

, whose tenure spanned four decades but which failed to include a Final Four appearance despite numerous conference championships. The team advanced to the Elite Eight under Quin Snyder
Quin Snyder
Quin Snyder is currently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. Snyder, was formerly in charge of player development for the 76ers and accepted the role in June 2010 after coaching the NBDL's Austin Toros for three seasons...

 in 2002 as a 12th seed (setting a record for the lowest-seeded team ever to do so), but inconsistent performance and various improprieties in his leadership of the program caused him to be fired in the midst of an abysmal 2006 season. He was replaced with then-UAB head coach Mike Anderson. In 2009 the team lost in the Elite Eight to the University of Connecticut Huskies. Playing Anderson's high-energy style, Missouri's games became known widely as "the fastest 40 minutes in basketball." Then, after a first round exit from the NCAA tournament in 2011, Anderson took the head coaching position with the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...

. Although the method upon which Anderson left Mizzou was highly criticized, he is credited with bringing the program back to national prominence. The head coaching vacancy was filled in early April 2011 with Frank Haith
Frank Haith
-Personal:Haith is a 1988 graduate of Elon College. He and his wife, Pam, have two children; one son, Corey, and one daughter, Brianna. Haith's nephew, Sean Bell, was slain by New York City police in a controversial November 25, 2006 shooting incident....

, the former University of Miami (Florida) head coach.

Women's basketball

The current head coach of the women's basketball program is Robin Pingeton
Robin Pingeton
Robin Pingeton is the head coach of the University of Missouri's women's basketball team. She was hired in April 2010 to replace former head coach Cindy Stein.-College:...

, formerly of Illinois State
Illinois State Redbirds
The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level . The football team competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference while most other teams compete in the Missouri Valley Conference...

. She was hired in April 2010 to replace Cindy Stein
Cindy Stein
Cindy Stein is a former coach of the Missouri Tigers women's basketball team at the University of Missouri. She was the head coach for the Tigers from 1998 to 2010...

, who resigned under pressure from boosters and media after the 2009–10 season.

Baseball

The first Missouri Tigers baseball team was in 1868. The first recorded season was in 1891, when the Tigers went 2–2.The Tigers won the National Championship in 1954. The presence of former Missouri Tiger baseball players in professional baseball continues to grow each year.

In 2007, two players signed contracts, bringing the number of former MU players signing pro contracts to 142. Current MU head coach Tim Jamieson has seen 40 players in his 13-year tenure sign pro contracts. Notable Tiger baseball alumni include Tim Laudner
Tim Laudner
Timothy Jon Laudner is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Minnesota Twins from 1981 to 1989.-Playing career:...

, who played for the 1987 World Champion Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

, and Phil Bradley
Phil Bradley
Philip Poole Bradley is a former Major League Baseball outfielder/designated hitter with an 8 year career from to . He played for the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox of the American League and Philadelphia Phillies of the National League. He was elected to the American...

, who played for several teams in 1980s and early `90s. In 2006, pitcher Max Scherzer
Max Scherzer
Maxwell M. "Max" Scherzer is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona.-Early life:...

 became the highest draft pick in Mizzou history when the Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...

 selected him in the first round with the 11th overall pick. Two years later, pitcher Aaron Crow
Aaron Crow
Aaron J. Crow is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball.-Early life:...

 broke that record by being picked 9th overall by the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...

. Current Major Leaguer Ian Kinsler
Ian Kinsler
Ian Michael Kinsler is a Major League Baseball All-Star second baseman for the Texas Rangers.Despite having been drafted in only the 17th round out of college, Kinsler has risen to become a two-time All Star, and a member of the Sporting News 2009 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball...

 is a former Tiger who also played for Coach Jamieson.

MU vs. KU

The Tigers' biggest rival is the Kansas Jayhawks
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

, with whom they compete in the annual Border War. This is one of the most intense rivalries in college sports, as it goes back to a time of actual armed conflict between pro- and anti-slavery residents in Missouri and the Kansas Territory known as Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...

.

The Missouri–Kansas football series is the second-oldest and second-most-played rivalry in college football history. (See: The Rivalry (Lehigh–Lafayette) The teams first matched up in football on October 31, 1891. Missouri claims to lead the all-time series, 57–54–9, since it counts the forfeit of Kansas' 1960 victory as a win. (Kansas still claims the game as a Jayhawk win, leaving the series tied at 56–55–9.) Missouri claims the 1911 football game in Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...

 as the world's first Homecoming
Homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America...

. An important meeting between the Tigers and the Jayhawks occurred on November 24, 2007 when the two teams played for the Big 12 North Championship and a shot at playing for the Big 12 Championship and a possible National Championship. The Tigers defeated the Jayhawks 36 to 28. This is regarded as the biggest victory in Missouri's history, which also occurred in the best season in Missouri's history. The Tigers best season ever later resulted in a trip to the Cotton Bowl Classic, where they defeated Arkansas 38–7.

In basketball, the Tigers trail the series 94–171.

MU vs. Nebraska

The Missouri-Nebraska football series was another historic rivalry alongside the MU–KU series, although it now ends with Nebraska's departure for the Big Ten Conference. The Missouri–Nebraska series was the second oldest rivalry in the Big 12, dating back to 1892. The two teams met 104 times, with Nebraska leading the series 65–36–3. The large lead was the result of a 24-year Nebraska winning streak from 1979 to 2002. The teams split the eight games played from 2003 to 2010. The rivalry saw renewed interest following the infamous Flea Kicker
Flea Kicker
In college football, the Flea Kicker was a legendary play executed by the Nebraska Cornhuskers against the Missouri Tigers on November 8, 1997 that sent the game into overtime and resulted in a win for the Cornhuskers who went on to share the NCAA Division I-A National Championship with the...

 game of 1997. The two teams played for the Victory Bell trophy, which was first awarded in 1927.

MU vs. Illinois

There is also a relatively new basketball rivalry with the Illinois Fighting Illini
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

 of the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

 referred to as the Braggin' Rights Game
Braggin' Rights
Braggin' Rights is the annual men's college basketball contest between the University of Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big Ten Conference and the University of Missouri Tigers of the Big 12 Conference.First played in 1980, the game takes place in St. Louis, Missouri, during the month of December...

. The Braggin' Rights game debuted in 1980 and has been played every year since 1983. Missouri trails the series with a 10–20 record. The start of football season also often matches the two schools in the Arch Rivalry
Arch Rivalry
The Arch Rivalry, officially known as the State Farm Arch Rivalry for sponsorship purposes, was an American college football rivalry between the Illinois Fighting Illini football team of the University of Illinois and the Missouri Tigers football team of the University of Missouri...

 Game. Mizzou leads the football series with an all-time record of 14–7 since 1896.

MU vs. Oklahoma

The Tiger-Sooner Peace Pipe
Tiger-Sooner Peace Pipe
The Tiger–Sooner Peace Pipe is the trophy awarded to the winner of an American college football rivalry game played by the Missouri Tigers football team of the University of Missouri and the Oklahoma Sooners football team of the University of Oklahoma....

 is a Rivalry trophy presented to the winner of the Missouri vs. Oklahoma game.

The trophy is a ceremony of smoking the old pipe. The trophy was inaugurated in 1929 by Chester M. Brewer, Mizzou's director of athletics, and by members of Mystical Seven, a University of Missouri honorary group ... The peace pipe was donated by a Mr. R. L. Hill, an "M" man and former president of the Missouri student body ... Ceremony takes place during halves, with Mystical Seven representing Missouri, and a similar organization representing Oklahoma ... Missouri won the first game, 13–0.

Since the inception of the Big 12 and its divisional play structure, the Tigers and the Sooners only face off two out every four years. Therefore, only SCHEDULED games between the two teams count for the exchange of the Peace Pipe. The most recent Big 12 Championship games featuring Mizzou and Oklahoma would not have triggered a transfer of the Peace Pipe (if Missouri had won on either occasion.)

Oklahoma leads the all-time series with a record of 65–23–5.

In 2010, Mizzou, ranked no. 11 in the BCS standings, defeated no. 1 ranked Oklahoma, 36–27.

Oklahoma leads the series since the trophy tradition started with a record of 56–14–4.

MU vs. Iowa State

The Telephone Trophy
Telephone Trophy
The Telephone Trophy is the trophy awarded to the winner of the American college football rivalry game played annually between Big 12 Conference rivals Iowa State Cyclones of Iowa State University and the Missouri Tigers of the University of Missouri. The trophy has been awarded to the winner...

 started during a 1959 Game featuring Iowa State and Missouri When the field phones were tested prior to the game, it was found that both teams could hear each other. The problem was solved by game time, but not without considerable worry on the part of the coaches. The Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. of Ames had a trophy made and presented it to Iowa State to be awarded each year to the team winning the game. An odd sidelight to the whole affair was that the same thing happened to Missouri later in the year in a game played at Columbia. Missouri won the first game, 14–0.

The series is 58–34–9 in favor of Missouri.

Missouri leads the series since the trophy tradition started with a record of 30–18–3.

Homecoming

The University of Missouri claims to be the originator of the tradition of homecoming
Homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America...

. Before games against the University of Kansas were played in Kansas City. However, a change in conference regulations required intercollegiate football games to be played on campus starting in Fearing that game attendance would be low, the new Missouri coach, C. L. Brewer, appealed with great success for the "Old Grads" to "Come Back Home" to boost attendance and help dedicate MU's new football field. The fans responded, swelling the crowd at Rollins Field in Columbia to more than ten thousand. MU, The NCAA, Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit is a board game in which progress is determined by a player's ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. The game was created in 1979 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Canadian Chris Haney, a photo editor for Montreal's The Gazette and Scott Abbott, a sports...

, and Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...

 all verify that this game in 1911 was the first homecoming game.

The 2010 edition of the University of Missouri Homecoming also included the first ever visit by ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

 College GameDay. 18,000 fans attended College GameDay at the Francis Quadrangle on Saturday, October 23, 2010. The turnout broke the previous record of 15,800 fans set at the University of Nebraska in 2001.

Harpo's goal post tradition

Since 1971, there has been no doubt about the destination of the goal posts anytime they have been torn down following a home football game. 1971 marked the first year in which the goal posts ended up at Harpo's Bar and Grill at 29 S. Tenth Street in Columbia. Although no concrete reasoning is known behind the tradition, it is suggested that Harpo's became the destination because of its popularity among alumni returning to Columbia on game days and because the restaurant is one of the few places that had remained under consistent ownership without any name changes, so alumni and students all easily identify with the establishment. Following the 2005 season, removable goal posts were installed, which are lowered at the close of each home game.

In 2010 the goal post tradition was revived following the victory against BCS #1 ranked Oklahoma. Thousands of fans began to swarm the field before the final play had even ended. Although there were event staff and highway patrol encircling the field, security was unable to prevent fans from storming the field and removing the north end zone goal post from the stadium.

Alma mater

The Alma Mater for the University of Missouri is Old Missouri. It was written in 1895 and is sung to the tune of Annie Lisle
Annie Lisle
"Annie Lisle" is the name of an 1857 ballad by Boston, Massachusetts songwriter H. S. Thompson first published by Moulton & Clark of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and later by Oliver Ditson & Co. It is about the death of a young maiden, by what some have speculated to be tuberculosis, although the...

 and has two verses. Before and after athletic events, sometimes only the first verse is used. The first and second and second verses are more commonly sung at student orientation and at commencement/graduation ceremonies. Both verses are followed by the chorus.

First Verse
Old Missouri, fair Missouri

Dear old varsity.

Ours are hearts that fondly love thee

Here's a health to thee.

Chorus
Proud art thou in classic beauty

Of thy noble past

With thy watch words honour, duty,

Thy high fame shall last!

Second verse
Every student, man and maiden

Swells the glad refrain.

'Till the breezes, music laden

Waft it back again.

Chorus
Proud art thou in classic beauty

Of thy noble past

With thy watch words honour, duty,

Thy high fame shall last!

National championships

(All Sports)
  • Baseball (Men) – 1954
  • Indoor Track and Field (Men) - 1965

Basketball

  • 1976
  • 1978 (Tournament)
  • 1980
  • 1981
  • 1982 (Regular Season and Tournament)
  • 1983
  • 1987 (Regular Season and Tournament)
  • 1989 (Tournament)
  • 1990
  • 1993 (Tournament)
  • 1994

Notable athletes

  • John Anderson
    John Anderson (broadcaster)
    John Anderson is a sports journalist from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and a host of the ESPN TV program SportsCenter since June 1999. He lives in Southington, Connecticut.-Biography:...

    , former high jumper, now anchor on ESPN
    ESPN
    Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

     SportsCenter
    SportsCenter
    SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...

  • Ben Askren
    Ben Askren
    Ben Askren is an American former amateur wrestler for the University of Missouri and U.S. Olympic team. He is now a mixed martial artist and the current Bellator Welterweight Champion.-Wrestling:...

    , Missouri's first individual wrestling national champion (2-Time), 2x Hodge Award Winner (College wrestler of the year),2007 Espy Nominated Best College Male Ahtlete, 2008 Freestyle Wrestling Olympian, Current Bellator (MMA) Welterweight Tournament Champion.
  • Max Askren 2010 NCCA wrestling Champion 184 lb (83.5 kg).
  • Dom Bradley 2009 Junior World Freestyle Wrestling Champion 265 lb (120.2 kg).
  • Phil Bradley
    Phil Bradley
    Philip Poole Bradley is a former Major League Baseball outfielder/designated hitter with an 8 year career from to . He played for the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox of the American League and Philadelphia Phillies of the National League. He was elected to the American...

    , standout football and baseball player who became an All-Star outfielder for the Seattle Mariners
    Seattle Mariners
    The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...

  • John Brown (basketball)
    John Brown (basketball)
    John Young Brown is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. A forward, he played collegiately at the University of Missouri. He was a graduate of Dixon High School in Dixon, Missouri...

    , standout basketball player who played professionally for the Chicago Bulls
    Chicago Bulls
    The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...

  • Christian Cantwell
    Christian Cantwell
    Christian Cantwell is a World Champion American shot putter. As of 2008 he is 6' 5" tall and weighs 300 or 335 lbs ....

    , former thrower on track team, current world-class shot putter, 2004 and 2008 IAAF World Indoor Champion. 2008 Summer Olympic Games Silver Medalist.
  • Lloyd Carr
    Lloyd Carr
    Lloyd H. Carr is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season. Under Carr, the Wolverines compiled a record of 122–40 and won or shared five Big Ten Conference titles...

    , former football player and former head coach at the University of Michigan
  • Mark Ellis
    Mark Ellis
    Mark Ellis is the name of:* Mark Ellis , Canadian actor* Mark Ellis , Major League Baseball player* Mark Ellis , English footballer who played for Bradford City...

    , 2009 NCAA Wrestling National Champion (285 lbs.), Current MMA fighter.
  • Justin Gage
    Justin Gage
    Justin Gage is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL Draft...

    , wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans
    Tennessee Titans
    The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...

  • Brad Imes
    Brad Imes
    Bradley Imes Smith , is a retired American mixed martial artist. Imes appeared on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV. He has competed as a heavyweight in the UFC, WEC, and most recently King of the Cage...

    , former Missouri offensive tackle, Current professional mixed martial artists competing in the UFC, WEC, and most recently King of the Cage.
  • John Kelly
    John Kelly (golfer)
    John Kelly is an amateur golfer who plays for the University of Missouri and was runner-up in the 2006 U.S. Amateur Championship.Kelly was born in St. Louis, Missouri and graduated from Christian Brothers College High School....

    , Low Amateur at The 2007 Masters
  • Ian Kinsler
    Ian Kinsler
    Ian Michael Kinsler is a Major League Baseball All-Star second baseman for the Texas Rangers.Despite having been drafted in only the 17th round out of college, Kinsler has risen to become a two-time All Star, and a member of the Sporting News 2009 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball...

    , current player for the Texas Rangers
    Texas Rangers (baseball)
    The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

    , an AL All Star in '08
  • Linas Kleiza
    Linas Kleiza
    Linas Kleiza is a Lithuanian professional basketball player with the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association. He is also a member of the Lithuanian national team. He can play either forward position. Kleiza signed a four year, $18.8 million contract prior to the 2010–11 NBA...

    , former NBA player for the Denver Nuggets
    Denver Nuggets
    The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...

  • Jim Leavitt
    Jim Leavitt
    Jim Leavitt is a former American football player and current linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He served at the head coach at the University of South Florida from the football program's inception in 1997 until 2009, compiling a record of 95–57.-Early years:Leavitt grew up in St...

    , former football player and former coach University of South Florida
    University of South Florida
    The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...

  • Robin Lingle
    Robin Lingle
    Ralph "Robin" Lingle was a former middle distance runner from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Lingle graduated from The Stony Brook School, where he became the first athlete to win two championship cross-country meets on the same day, the Ivy Preparatory School League and the Eastern Scholastics States...

    , 1000 yards (914.4 m) Big Eight indoor record-holder, 1965 national champion
  • Jeremy Maclin
    Jeremy Maclin
    -2009 NFL Draft:Maclin was considered a top National Football League prospect following his second season, and roommate Sean Weatherspoon hoped to convince Maclin to return for his junior year instead of leaving Missouri for the 2009 NFL Draft. Weatherspoon’s efforts were unsuccessful, and on...

    , wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles
    Philadelphia Eagles
    The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

  • Bill McCartney
    Bill McCartney
    William Paul McCartney is a former American football player and coach and the founder of the Promise Keepers men's ministry. He was the head coach at the University of Colorado from 1982 to 1994, where he compiled a record of 93–55–5 and won three consecutive Big Eight Conference...

    , former head football coach at University of Colorado
    University of Colorado
    The University of Colorado system is a system of public universities in Colorado consisting of three universities in four campuses: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, and University of Colorado Denver in downtown Denver and at the Anschutz Medical Campus in...

  • Anthony Peeler
    Anthony Peeler
    Anthony Eugene Peeler is a retired American professional basketball player, having played for a number of NBA teams from 1992 to 2005...

    , former NBA player from 1992–2005
  • Ron Peters, All-time record holder of the 330 yards (301.8 m) low hurdles (36.8s) at the University of Missouri and member of their 1965 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship
    NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship
    NCAA team champions for Men's Indoor Track and Field-See also:*NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship*NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship*NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship*Pre-NCAA Indoor Track and Field Champions...

     team.
  • Derrick Peterson, former Missouri middle distance runner competed in 800-meter run at 2004 Olympic Games for the United States
  • Kareem Rush
    Kareem Rush
    Kareem Lamar Rush is an American former professional basketball player who last played at shooting guard with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers...

    , current NBA player for the Philadelphia 76ers
    Philadelphia 76ers
    The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...

  • Max Scherzer
    Max Scherzer
    Maxwell M. "Max" Scherzer is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona.-Early life:...

    , starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers
    Detroit Tigers
    The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

  • Brad Smith
    Brad Smith (American football)
    Bradley "Brad" Alexander Smith is an American football quarterback, running back, wide receiver and return specialist for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. He played college football at Missouri.-High...

    , NCAA record-holder as a dual-threat quarterback, now a wide receiver/kick returner for the Buffalo Bills
    Buffalo Bills
    The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

  • Doug Smith
    Doug Smith (basketball)
    Douglas Smith is a retired American basketball player who was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1st round of the 1991 NBA Draft. Smith played in five NBA seasons, for the Mavericks and the Boston Celtics and averaged 8.0 ppg in his NBA career...

    , former NBA player from 1991–1996
  • Gene Snitsky
    Gene Snitsky
    Eugene Alan "Gene" Snisky is a professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Snitsky, who is best known for his time spent with World Wrestling Entertainment. He had played college football at the University of Missouri and was on the pre-season roster in 1995 for the Birmingham Barracudas...

    , former Missouri football player, now WWE
    World Wrestling Entertainment
    World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

     wrestler
  • Hans Uldal, current Missouri decathlete competed in 2004 Olympic Games for Norway
  • Roger Wehrli
    Roger Wehrli
    Roger Wehrli is a former National Football League cornerback who played his entire 14-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1969 until 1982. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler after playing college football at the University of Missouri, where he was a consensus All-American and a first-round...

    , Pro Football Hall of Fame 2007 inductee.
  • Kellen Winslow
    Kellen Winslow
    Kellen Boswell Winslow is a former American football tight end with the Missouri Tigers and the San Diego Chargers. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest tight ends in the history of the game. He is currently the athletic director at Central State University.Winslow did not play high...

    , former Missouri football player now in College and Pro Hall of Fame
  • Tyron Woodley
    Tyron Woodley
    Tyron Woodley is an American former amateur wrestler for the University of Missouri and is now a professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to a deal with Strikeforce.-Early life:...

    , former 2x Missouri Wrestling All-American, Current Strikeforce (MMA) Welterweight Contender
  • Justin Smith
    Justin Smith (American football)
    Justin Smith is an American football defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals fourth overall in the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Missouri.-College Years:While majoring in General Studies at...

    , Pro Bowl Defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers
    San Francisco 49ers
    The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...


Tiger media

As one would expect from a university whose journalism school
Missouri School of Journalism
The Missouri School of Journalism at University of Missouri in Columbia, claims to be the oldest formal journalism school in the world. Founded in 1908, only the Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme de Paris established in 1899 may be older...

 is often ranked among the top journalism schools in the world, the Tigers have an excellent presence on the radio and television. The Tiger Radio Network is anchored by KMBZ in Kansas City, KTGR
KTGR
KTGR is a radio station broadcasting a sports-talk format, based on the ESPN Radio network. Licensed to Columbia, Missouri, USA, the station serves the Columbia, Missouri, area. The station is currently owned by Zimmer Radio Group of Mid-Missouri....

 AM/KCMQ
KCMQ
KCMQ is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Columbia, Missouri, USA, the station is currently owned by Zimmer Radio Group.The current line-up of programming:5am-9am - The Bob and Tom Show...

 FM in Columbia and Jefferson City, and KMOX in St Louis. Mike Kelly is the commentator for both sports, with John Kadlec and Chris Gervino serving as analysts for football and Gary Link filling in for basketball. In addition, the school owns and operates its own NBC affiliate, KOMU-TV
KOMU-TV
KOMU-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Mid-Missouri licensed to Columbia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter at studios on US 63 southeast of downtown. The station can also be seen on Mediacom, Suddenlink, and Charter channel 7 as well...

, in Columbia. The station is run by MU faculty members and is staffed by professionals and students. It's the only college-owned and operated network affiliate in the country.

For indoor sports, Mizzou operates the Missouri Sports Network, a syndication package that airs on FSN Midwest
FSN Midwest
Fox Sports Midwest is a regional sports network that operates in eastern and central Missouri , central & southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, Nebraska, and Iowa.-History:...

 and/or Metro Sports
Metro Sports
Metro Sports is a regional sports network serving the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, Lawrence, Kansas, and the state of Nebraska. It launched on December 12, 1996, and is currently available on cable systems including Time Warner Cable, Comcast and Knology....

. It mainly broadcasts volleyball and basketball. Dan McLaughlin
Dan McLaughlin
Dan McLaughlin is a professional sports broadcaster who currently works on both St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues telecasts on the cable television channel Fox Sports Midwest.-Early life:...

 handles play-by-play for all sports, and is joined by a rotating group of color commentators, most notably Tigers coaching legend Norm Stewart
Norm Stewart
Norman E. "Norm)" Stewart is a retired American college basketball coach. He coached at the University of Northern Iowa from 1961 to 1967, but is best known for his career with the University of Missouri from 1967 until 1999. He retired with an overall coaching record of 731-375 in 38 seasons...

 for men's basketball games.

See also

  • "Fifth Down" (The infamous "5th" down during the 1990 Colorado-Missouri football game)
  • "The Flea Kicker
    Flea Kicker
    In college football, the Flea Kicker was a legendary play executed by the Nebraska Cornhuskers against the Missouri Tigers on November 8, 1997 that sent the game into overtime and resulted in a win for the Cornhuskers who went on to share the NCAA Division I-A National Championship with the...

    "
  • Marching Mizzou
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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