The Mizzou Department of Athletics has announced that general admission hillside tickets for Mizzou’s game against Western Illinois on Sept. 17 will go on sale starting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 23. Game time for this Family Weekend game has been set for 6 p.m.

General admission tickets are $23 and can be ordered by calling 1-800-CAT PAWS (884-PAWS in mid-Missouri), going online to mutigers.com or ticketmaster.com, or by visiting the Mizzou Arena Ticket Office. A very limited number of reserved seats remain available.

In addition, tickets for the five other Tiger home games, including the September 3 home opener against Miami (Ohio), are also available.  For more information, visit mutigers.com.

— MU Sports Information —

University of Missouri Head Football Coach Gary Pinkel has promoted two veteran members of his coaching staff – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach Dave Steckel and Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach/Recruiting Coordinator David Yost – each to the new status of assistant head coach.

Steckel was in charge of the most improved defense in the Big 12 Conference in 2010, as the Tigers led the league and ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense, allowing 16.1 points per game.  Mizzou was also third in the league in total defense (300.2 ypg) in 2010.

Yost has been a major reason why Mizzou has become known as one of the top spread offensive attacks in the nation in recent years, and each of his last three quarterback pupils are playing in the NFL – Brad Smith (Buffalo Bills), Chase Daniel (New Orleans Saints) and Blaine Gabbert (Jacksonville Jaguars).

“I’m really pleased to be able to do this for both coaches,” said Pinkel.  “They’ve earned this, I think the results on the field show that.  Both guys are very good at what they do, and they are class individuals who represent our program, our families, the University, our fans, and everyone associated with Mizzou, in the right way,” he said.

Both Steckel and Yost have been with Pinkel for his entire tenure at Mizzou, and are entering their 11th seasons at MU.  Yost began coaching with Pinkel as a graduate assistant at Toledo in 1996, and has served continuously as Pinkel’s recruiting coordinator since 1997, the year he began coaching quarterbacks for the Rockets.  He’s been on Pinkel’s staff ever since, and the 2011 season will mark his 16th in all with Pinkel.  He took over as offensive coordinator in 2009.

Steckel will be in his 15th year with Pinkel, as he previously spent the 1992-95 seasons as the defensive line coach at Toledo.  After a five-year stint on the defensive staff at Rutgers (1996-2000), Steckel rejoined Pinkel at Mizzou in 2001 as his linebackers coach.  He later was named defensive coordinator prior to the 2009 season.

— MU Sports Information —

Mizzou’s home football game vs. Western Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 17 will be televised live on pay-per-view, as announced today by Mizzou Athletics and FOX Sports. Game time has been set for 6 p.m. from Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium.

The pay-per-view telecast will be available on participating cable systems in the region and nationwide to satellite and telco customers, giving fans the option to watch a game that otherwise wouldn’t be shown on television.

The game is being televised on a pay-per-view basis because it was not selected for over-the-air broadcast or cable television coverage as part of the Big 12 Conference package.  Suggested retail price for residential purchase is $39.95. The telecast will be available in High Definition and will be produced and distributed by FOX Sports.

Information about how to purchase the telecast will be posted on MUTigers.com and FOXSportsMidwest.com in September as it becomes available. Participating video providers will offer the telecasts to their customers on a specially designated pay-per-view channel. It is expected that Charter, Time Warner, Mediacom, Comcast, Suddenlink, Centurylink and many more cable providers, along with DirecTV, Dish Network and AT&T U-Verse, will offer the game.

“We are pleased to once again partner with Fox Sports Net to make this game available to Tiger fans.  We’re very excited about the upcoming season, and this joint venture with FSN is very important in helping bring Mizzou football to fans that might not otherwise have a chance to get to Columbia and see the game.”

This marks the fourth straight year that Mizzou and FOX have teamed to bring pay-per-view games to Tiger fans. In 2008, scheduled pay-per-view games included Southeast Missouri State and Nevada (the latter was moved to FOX Sports Net (FSN) after severe weather changed the broadcast schedule elsewhere that weekend). In 2009, games against Bowling Green and Furman were shown on pay-per-view. And in 2010, the McNeese State and San Diego State games aired on pay-per-view.

Mizzou will open the season Sept. 3 at Faurot Field vs. Miami (Ohio) in a game that will be televised nationally by FSN channels and affiliates (locally on FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports Kansas City).  The Tigers’ Sept. 9 game at Arizona State will air on ESPN; the Sept. 24 Big 12 opener at Oklahoma will air on FX; and the Nov. 26 regular season finale vs. Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium will air on FSN.  Other TV selections during the season will be made six to 12 days in advance of kickoff by the Big 12’s network partners.

— MU Sports Information —

The college basketball world will focus on Columbia, Mo., on Feb. 4th when the popular College GameDay Driven By State Farm will air live from Mizzou Arena before the Tigers square off against rival Kansas that night at 8 p.m. in ESPN’s Saturday Primetime Presented by DIRECTV telecast. The meeting will be GameDay’s first look inside the country’s most heated series. Missouri and Kansas will meet for the 266th time in a rivalry between two states that dates back to the Civil War.

“What an honor to have GameDay come to Columbia,” Mizzou Head Coach Frank Haith said. “We are obviously proud of what we have to showcase here. We are incredibly excited about our current team and the future of this program. We have the finest on-campus basketball facility in America and we have an incredible fan base that will create great excitement around this event and this rivalry. This is a great opportunity for the nation to see what the Mizzou experience is all about.”

Columbia will be one of eight stops for the College GameDay crew this season and five of those eight (Mizzou, Arizona, Florida State, Michigan and Vanderbilt) are first-time hosts. Host Rece Davis is joined on the program by former Notre Dame head coach Digger Phelps, former Duke player and assistant coach Jay Bilas, former North Carolina standout Hubert Davis and former Indiana and Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight.

Live coverage of the two hour show begins at 9 a.m. CT on ESPNU and doors to Mizzou Arena will open at 8 a.m.

Coverage picks up on ESPN at 10 a.m. CT. Tiger fans and students have enjoyed a successful history showing up in huge numbers for GameDay, including ESPN’s estimate of 18,000 fans before Mizzou Football’s Homecoming win over No. 1 Oklahoma in 2010. Admission to the GameDay morning festivities will be free.

“What another great opportunity for us to showcase our university and our athletics programs,” Director of Athletics Mike Alden said. “I know Frank (Haith) and his team will be excited to have the GameDay crew at Mizzou Arena and I know our university community and the entire City of Columbia will be just as welcoming and enthusiastic as when we hosted football GameDay last year for Homecoming.”

GameDay coverage will return later that night for a primetime hour from 7-8 p.m. While broadcast pairings have not been set for the game, the trio of Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale and Erin Andrews has typically been the Saturday evening crew. For more information on Mizzou Athletics, please visit our website at mutigers.com. About College GameDay College GameDay Driven by State Farm debuted Jan. 22, 2005 from the University of Connecticut, the same season as the debut of the Saturday Primetime Presented by DIRECTV game of the week.

The eight-week road show is hosted by Rece Davis (since 2005) with analysts Jay Bilas (2005), Hubert Davis (2007), Digger Phelps (2006) & Bob Knight (2009). Thirty-six different campuses have served as College GameDay sites, plus the ACC Tournament Semifinals (March 12, 2005), in a total of 56 stops through 2011. The largest crowd assembled for the show was 22,144 at Kentucky’s Rupp Arena, Feb. 10, 2010.

ESPN 2012 College GameDay Schedule
Date – Site – Games – Time (CT)
Jan. 14 – Tallahassee, Fla. – North Carolina at Florida State – 1 p.m.
Jan. 21 – Pittsburgh, Pa. – Louisville at Pittsburgh – 8 p.m.
Jan. 28 – Tuscon, Ariz. – Washington at Arizona – 6 p.m.
Feb. 4 – Columbia, Mo. – KANSAS at Missouri – 8 p.m.
Feb. 11 – Nashville, Tenn. – Kentucky at Vanderbilt – 8 p.m.
Feb. 18 – Ann Arbor, Mich. – Ohio State at Michigan – 8 p.m.
Feb. 25 – Storrs, Conn. – Syracuse at Connecticut – 8 p.m.
March 3 – Lawrence, Kan. – Texas at KANSAS – 8 p.m.
or Durham, N.C. – North Carolina at Duke – 6 p.m.

— MU Sports Information —

The Mizzou Athletic Department has announced that the Ninth Annual Football Fan Day will be held Sunday, Aug. 7, at Faurot Field. Gates will open at 3:45 p.m. and the team and coaches will sign autographs until 5:15 p.m. Admission to the fan-friendly event is free.

Tiger fans will have the opportunity to go onto the field and meet the Mizzou players and coaches and get autographs. Players will be able to sign one item per fan and free schedule posters will also be available at the event. Fans should enter via Gate 1 or Gate 2W beginning at 3:45 p.m.  There will be plenty of free water on hand, but fans are encouraged to bring their ownsealed bottle of water to help beat the heat as well. Other outside food and beverage will not be permitted.

Parking for the event will be free and fans looking to get the latest Mizzou Football team gear are invited to check out the Tiger Team Store, which will be open that day from 3-6 p.m. Fans can park in any of the lots around Memorial Stadium.

With the football season just around the corner, fans are encouraged to pick up season tickets for what should be another exciting year at Memorial Stadium. Season tickets start as low as $229 and mini-plans begin as low as $75. Single game tickets will go on sale Aug. 4. For more information on tickets, visit MUTigers.com or call 1-800-CAT-PAWS (884-PAWS locally).

— MU Sports Information —

University of Missouri football standouts Jacquies Smith (Dallas, Texas) and Brad Madison (Bethany, Mo.) have been named to the pre-season watch list for the 2011 Rotary Lombardi Award, given annually to the nation’s top collegiate down lineman.

Smith, a senior defensive end, makes the list after enjoying a stellar junior season in 2010, when he was a 2nd-Team All-Big 12 honoree.  He started all 13 games at end and was second on the team in both tackles for loss (10.0) and quarterback sacks (5.5).  He finished his junior season with 35 tackles, and added two forced fumbles, two recovered fumbles (one of which he returned 53 yards for a score against Kansas State, and blocked one field goal.

Joining Smith on the Lombardi watch list is junior DE Brad Madison (Bethany, Mo.), who enjoyed a breakout year in 2010 as well.  Despite not being a full-time starter, Madison led the Tigers in tackles for loss (11.0) and quarterback sacks (7.5), while earning 2nd-Team All-Big 12 acclaim.  Madison is also on the pre-season watch list for the Nagurski Award, and he joins junior LB Zaviar Gooden (Pflugerville, Texas) as Tigers on multiple watch lists (Gooden is on the Bednarik and Nagurski lists).

Mizzou has now had seven different players receive mention on seven different pre-season watch lists.  Gooden and Madison are on two apiece, and they are joined by senior OL Dan Hoch (Outland), senior TE Michael Egnew (Mackey Award), junior WR T.J. Moe (Biletnikoff Award) and senior PK Grant Ressel (Lou Groza Award) on the pre-season watch lists.

— MU Sports Information —

MU Sports Information

It’s the offseason for college football, but that doesn’t stop the anticipation for what promises to be another exciting season for the Missouri Tiger program.  The national awards committees undoubtedly agree that Mizzou is poised for big things in 2011, as three more Tigers were unveiled Friday as candidates for prestigious national individual awards.

Junior LB Zaviar Gooden (Pflugerville, Texas) was named Friday to the pre-season watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which goes annually to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player.  This is the second award watch list that Gooden has been named to, as he previously this week was tabbed for the Bednarik Award watch list, which also goes to the top defender nationally.  Gooden is coming off a breakthrough season when he led the Tigers in tackles as a first-year starter in 2010, with 85.

Joining Gooden on the Nagurski watch list is junior DE Brad Madison (Bethany, Mo.), who enjoyed a breakout year in 2010 as well.  Despite not being a full-time starter, Madison led the Tigers in tackles for loss (11.0) and quarterback sacks (7.5), while earning 2nd-Team All-Big 12 acclaim.  Mizzou and Texas are the only two Big 12 schools with two players on the Nagurski watch list.

Senior OL Dan Hoch (Harlan, Iowa) was also named Friday to the pre-season watch list of the Outland Trophy, which is presented to the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman.  Hoch has started 26 consecutive games for the Tigers at right tackle, and earned 2nd-Team All-Big 12 honors a year ago.

Mizzou has now had six different players receive mention on pre-season watch lists.  Gooden had earlier this week been named to the Bednarik Award list.  Hoch and Madison join senior TE Michael Egnew (Mackey Award), junior WR T.J. Moe (Biletnikoff Award) and senior PK Grant Ressel (Lou Groza Award) on the pre-season watch lists.

MU Sports Information

The pre-season award candidates keep rolling out from the Mizzou Football program, with the latest being senior PK Grant Ressel.  Ressel was named today to the pre-season watch list for the Lou Groza Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding kicker.

Ressel, who has been a Groza semi-finalist each of the last two years, has made a combined 96.2% (127-of-132) of his total kicks over the last two seasons (43-of-46 FGs, and 84-of-86 PATs).  In 2010, Ressel went 17-of-19 on field goals and led the Tigers with 96 points scored.  That followed his amazing break out season in 2009, when he won 1st-Team All-American honors after breaking an NCAA single-season combined kick accuracy record (made 65-of-66 overall kicks that season, for a 98.5% success rate).

MU Sports Information

A pair of offensive standouts for the University of Missouri football program have been recognized as pre-season candidates for prestigious awards.  Senior TE Michael Egnew (Plainview, Texas) and junior WR T.J. Moe (O’Fallon, Mo.) have been named to the pre-season watch lists for the Mackey Award and the Biletnikoff Award, respectively.

The John Mackey Award goes annually to the nation’s top tight end, while the Biletnikoff Award goes to the nation’s top wide receiver.  Mizzou’s Chase Coffman won the Mackey Award as a senior in 2008.

Egnew returns for his senior season in 2011 after exploding onto the scene a year ago, when he led all of the nation’s tight ends with 90 receptions, totaling 762 yards and five touchdowns.  He earned consensus 1st-Team All-American and Mackey Award finalist status for his play, after he had a total of seven receptions combined in his first two years as a Tiger.

Similarly, Moe made a name for himself in 2010, when he led the Tigers, and ranked 9th nationally with 92 receptions for 1,045 yards and six touchdowns.  All of that production as a sophomore came a year after he caught just two passes for eight yards as a true freshman in 2009.  Moe closed the 2010 season in record-setting fashion, as he shattered Mizzou bowl game records with 15 receptions for 152 yards in the Insight Bowl against Iowa.

This dynamic duo joins junior LB Zaviar Gooden on the pre-season watch lists, as Gooden was unveiled earlier this week on the watch list for the Bednarik Award which goes annually to the nation’s top overall defensive player.