Missouri Tigers football

History

Main article: List of Missouri Tigers football seasons

Missouri's football program dates back to 1890, and has appeared in 37 bowl games (including 11 major 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. Entering the 2025 season, Missouri's all-time record is 721–593–52 (.547).

Since 2012, Missouri has been a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). 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. Pinkel's record with Mizzou after his final game on November 27, 2015, is 118–73 ().

Barry Odom took over as head coach for the 2016 season, following Pinkel's retirement. Odom would be fired following the 2019 season after going 25–25 overall and 13–19 in the SEC over 4 seasons at the helm.

Since the 2020 football season, the team has been coached by Eliah Drinkwitz. Drinkwitz has returned the Mizzou football program to prominence, with back to back 10+ win seasons and Top 25 finishes in the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Conference affiliations

• Independent (1890–1892)
• Western Interstate University Football Association (1893–1897)
• 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.

National championships

Although Missouri has never been selected as a “Consensus National Champion” by any of the six NCAA-designated polls, the Tigers were selected as national champions by one NCAA-designated major selector in both 1960 and 2007. Neither championship is claimed by the university.

† The Tigers’ original 1960 record was 10–1 but was later changed to 11–0 after the Big Eight retroactively awarded a forfeit victory to Missouri.

Conference championships

Missouri has won 15 conference championships.

† 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.

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.

† Co-champion

Bowl games

Missouri has appeared in 38 bowl games, including 11 major bowl appearances: 4 Orange Bowls, 4 Cotton Bowls, 2 Sugar Bowls, and 1 Fiesta Bowl, with an all-time bowl record of 17–21. The team also accepted a bid to the 2020 Music City Bowl against Iowa, which was subsequently canceled due to COVID-19.

Missouri's entire bowl history is shown in the table below.

Rivalries

Currently active

Kansas

Main article: Border War (Kansas–Missouri rivalry)

Missouri leads the series with Kansas 58–54–9 through the 2025 season, but Kansas fans argue that the real record is still Missouri leading, but 57-55-9. This is because of a forfeit that Kansas counts as a Missouri loss, but Missouri counts as a Kansas loss due to the forefiet. With history dating back to Bleeding Kansas in the 1850s, the "Border War" rivalry is 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. The series was contested again in 2025 at Farout Field in Columbia, Missouri, where Missouri won 31-42.

Arkansas

Main article: Battle Line Rivalry

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 13–4 as of the conclusion of the 2025 season, which saw the Tigers beat Arkansas 28–21 in Columbia.

Oklahoma

Main article: Missouri–Oklahoma football rivalry

Oklahoma leads the series 67-25–5 through the 2024 season. From 1940 through 1974, the teams played for the Tiger-Sooner Peace Pipe trophy. The rivalry was renewed in 2024, as the teams are members of the same conference again. Missouri won the 2024 matchup 30-23.

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 10–6 as of the conclusion of the 2025 edition of the rivalry.

Historic

Illinois

Main article: Illinois–Missouri football rivalry

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. 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

Main article: Iowa State–Missouri football rivalry

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. 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.

Kansas State

Main article: Kansas State–Missouri football rivalry

Separated by 245 miles, these bordering state rivals have played 99 times dating back to their first meeting in 1909. The schools were members of the old Big Eight Conference from 1928 to 1995 and the modern Big 12 Conference from 1996 to 2011. After Missouri left the Big 12 to join the Southeastern Conference in 2012, the annual rivalry went on hiatus. However, on November 16, 2017, the teams agreed to a home-and home series in 2022 and 2023. As of January 2025, Missouri leads the all time series 60-34-5.

Nebraska

Main article: Missouri–Nebraska football rivalry

Nebraska leads the series 65–36–3 through the 2022 season. From 1892 through 2010, the teams played for the Victory Bell trophy.

Award winners

• Amos Alonzo Stagg Award – For Contributions to Football :Don Faurot – 1964
• Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award :Warren Powers – 1978
• Mosi Tatupu Award – Best Special Teams Player :Brock Olivo – 1997
• John Mackey Award – Best Tight End :Chase Coffman – 2008
• Burlsworth Trophy – Best Former Walk-On Player :Cody Schrader — 2023

Player accomplishments

All-Americans

Missouri has produced 16 Consensus All Americans with 15 total individuals being recognized. Jeremy Maclin won the honor in two different seasons. Missouri also has three Unanimous All Americans.

• Darold Jenkins, C 1941
• Danny LaRose,† DE 1960
• Johnny Roland, DB 1965
• Roger Wehrli,† DB 1968
• Kellen Winslow, TE 1978
• John Clay, OT 1986
• Rob Riti, C 1999
• Martin Rucker, TE 2007
• Jeremy Maclin, AP 2007
• Jeremy Maclin (2), AP/KR 2008
• Chase Coffman, TE 2008
• Michael Egnew, TE 2010
• Michael Sam,† DE 2013
• Shane Ray, DE 2014
• Cody Schrader, RB 2023
• Ahmad Hardy, RB 2025 † Unanimous selection

Retired numbers

Missouri has retired six jersey numbers representing seven players as of 2017.

Hall of Fame

College Football Hall of Fame

Missouri has 11 inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame.

In addition, Bill Roper, Jim Phelan, Frank Broyles, and Lloyd Carr are all inductees who spent brief time at Missouri.

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Two Missouri players have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

Mascot

Truman the Tiger was introduced as the school's mascot against the Utah State Aggies in 1986, receiving his name from former president Harry S Truman. Truman competes annually in the NCA College National Championship Mascot Division which typically includes a consistent field of around 15 participating mascots; Truman has won the competition several times, most recently in 2024.

Homecoming

:See 1911 Kansas vs. Missouri football game

The NCAA as well as Jeopardy! and Trivial Pursuit recognize the University of Missouri as the birthplace of Homecoming, an event which became a national tradition in college football. The history of the University of Missouri Homecoming can be traced back to the 1911 Kansas vs. Missouri football game, when the Missouri Tigers faced off against the Kansas Jayhawks in the first installment of the Border War rivalry series.

Future opponents

Conference opponents

From 2012 to 2023, Missouri played in the East Division of the SEC and played each opponent in the division each year along with several teams from the West Division. The SEC will expand the conference to 16 teams and will eliminate its two divisions in 2024, causing a new scheduling format for the Tigers to play against the other members of the conference. On March 20, 2024, the SEC announced that they would continue with 8 conference games for the 2025 season, and that each team would play their same conference opponents from the 2024 schedule, only with the host locations switched.

2025 Conference Schedule

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Non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of June 26, 2025.

References

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