Missouri Tigers football

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).

Since 2012, Missouri has been a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) 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. Pinkel's record with Mizzou after his final game on November 27, 2015, is 118–73 (.610).

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

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.

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.

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

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 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. 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.

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.

Oklahoma
Oklahoma leads the series 67-24–5 through the 2022 season. 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.

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.

Kansas
Missouri leads the series with Kansas 57–54–9 through the 2021 season. 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. The series is set to renew in 2025.

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. 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. 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.

Nebraska
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

All-Americans
Missouri has 38 first-team All-American selections as of 2017, 14 of whom were consensus selections.


 * Ed Lindenmeyer, T 1925
 * Paul Christman, QB 1939
 * Darold Jenkins,† C 1941
 * Bob Steuber, RB 1942
 * Harold Burnine, DE 1955
 * Danny LaRose,† DE 1960
 * Ed Blaine, T 1961
 * Conrad Hitchler, DE 1962
 * Johnny Roland,† DB 1965
 * Francis Peay, OT 1965
 * Russ Washington, OT 1967
 * Roger Wehrli,† DB 1968
 * Mike Carroll, OG 1969
 * Scott Anderson, C 1973
 * John Moseley, DB 1973
 * Henry Marshall, WR 1975
 * Morris Towns, OT 1976
 * Kellen Winslow,† TE 1978
 * Bill Whitaker, DB 1980
 * Brad Edelman, C 1981
 * Jeff Gaylord, DT 1981
 * Conrad Goode, OT 1983
 * John Clay,† OT 1986
 * Devin West, TB 1998
 * Rob Riti,† C 1999
 * Justin Smith, DE 2000
 * Martin Rucker,† TE 2007
 * Jeremy Maclin,† AP 2007 & 2008
 * Chase Coffman,† TE 2008
 * Danario Alexander, WR 2009
 * Grant Ressel, K 2009
 * Michael Egnew,† TE 2010
 * Michael Sam,† DE 2013
 * Shane Ray,† DE 2014
 * Marcus Murphy, ST 2014
 * Kentrell Brothers, LB 2015
 * Harrison Mevis, K 2021
 * Cody Schrader, † RB 2023

† Consensus selection

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

College Football Hall of Fame
Missouri has 15 inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame.

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 has been named the "Nation's Best Mascot" three times since 1986, most recently in 2014.

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. Now the Tigers nearly sell out Memorial Stadium every Homecoming, which is usually a home game in October.

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.

Non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of October 27, 2022.