By Rock Westfall
Missouri’s school-record $62 million donation is the ultimate vote of confidence in coach Eli Drinkwitz.
A Record Donation Maintains Mizzou Momentum
For the first time since 2013, the Missouri Tigers are coming off a finish inside the top-ten at 9th in the nation. That was the third time since 2007 that Ol’ Mizzou has finished as a top-ten program.
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz led the Tigers to a profound and transformational season with a record of 11-2 and a Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State. After beginning the 2023 season on a warm seat, Drinkwitz is secure with a contract extension and key players coming back in 2024.
This week, Mizzou announced that they received a record donation of $62 million for upgrades at Faurot Field and the Tiger Fund, a program through the Tiger scholarship fund that benefits student-athletes. Indeed, Mizzou is on the move.
Missouri athletics receives record $62 million donation from anonymous source to aid renovations, NIL
— Chris Rodgers 🦚 🇺🇸 (@rodgeau) February 6, 2024
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Mizzou Football Returns from the Abyss
In 2015, the University of Missouri made headlines with a student strike that football players took part in. It was a case of the students taking over the school from a feckless and dumbfounded administration. The incident ruined the season and played a role in the retirement of head coach Gary Pinkel.
It was a sad ending for Pinkel, who was coming off 12-2 and 11-3 seasons before limping home to a 5-7 mark in 2015. Pinkel surpassed legends Don Faurot and Dan Devine as the all-time winningest Mizzou coach. But his legacy was tarnished for what seemed by many to be an unconditional surrender to the players.
The fallout from the strike was devastating. Donations plummeted into a freefall. Season ticket sales and attendance were hemorrhaging at an alarming rate. Admissions became a crisis so bad that Mizzou offered to rent out its empty dorm rooms to fans for football weekends. It was a humiliation indicative of a university then-beclowned by inept leadership.
Eli Replaces a True Son Who Never Had a Chance
Mizzou alum, former linebacker, and Pinkel assistant Barry Odom was holding an empty bag upon taking over. Odom went 25-25 in four seasons, including an 8-5 finish in 2018 and a final ranking of 23rd.
However, better opponents outclassed Mizzou, and Odom never earned the full faith and trust of fans and donors. Recruiting was never strong, especially in the critical St. Louis metro area. His hiring was a classic case of terrible timing; Odom was made the scapegoat for matters far beyond his control and was fired after four seasons. It was a sad fate for a True Son of the Don Faurot tradition.
Little-known Eli Drinkwitz, an offensive wizard who was coming off a 12-1 season at Appalachian State, was hired out of desperation in a botched search that was so inept the school administration had to take it over from the athletic director.
Drinkwitz had only been a head coach that one season at Appy State but had a strong reputation as a Power Five offensive coordinator. In his first three seasons, Drinkwitz was slightly worse than Odom, with marks of 5-5, 6-7, and 6-7. Athletic Director Desiree Reed-Francois did not hire Drinkwitz, and that led to plenty of speculation that 2023 was a win-or-else season.
Barry Odom has to be fired. He is currently
• 0-2 in bowl games
• 0-4 vs Kentucky
• 1-11 vs ranked teams
• 2-19 vs above-.500 P5 teamshttps://t.co/fQTOdOaxNw— Mike Rodriguez (@NWMizzouFan) November 17, 2019
The Roar is Restored – Fans Drink Up a Dream Season With Sellouts
The 2023 season became one of the greatest in Missouri history. It was a year that could prove to be historically transformational as far as Mizzou returning to the national conversation. In 2023, Mizzou attracted five sellouts with a success-starved fan base eager for winning football.
In Week 3, a 30-27 win over Kansas State clinched at the gun on a 61-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis will go down as a shot heard round the world for Tiger Nation. Previously, Drinkwitz had flubbed a play-call and got a delay of game penalty, backing up the attempt five yards. It could have been a fireable offense. Instead, Mizzou was ignited with a fiery momentum that would carry them to glory.
As Fences Mended, a Sleeping Giant Awakened
Oklahoma Sooners coaching legend Barry Switzer always remarked that he and his peers considered Missouri a Sleeping Giant. Mizzou has the advantage of two large metropolitan areas to recruit from, Kansas City and St. Louis. Also, there are plenty of proud alums and fans in those areas that preach the Mizzou Gospel.
Drinkwitz quickly caught on to the importance of recruiting KC and the Gateway City, working hard and fast to mend fences and soothe bad feelings, especially in the St. Louis area. The payoff was a 21st-ranked class for 2024. That was an impressive jump of 15 spots from 36th in 2023. Mizzou has repaired its relationships with top high school coaches to fuel its renaissance further. Finally, Missouri has never done better than now at the portal.
Former #Mizzou and Big Red greats Johnny Roland and Mel Gray chat with Tiger head coach Eli Drinkwitz at today's @NFFStLouis Luncheon in St. Louis.
📸William Greenblatt pic.twitter.com/k5anZxA1QE— St. Louis Football Cardinals (@BigRed_STL) April 21, 2021
A Potential Devine Legacy of Restored Pinkel Power
Don Faurot remains the Founding Father of Mizzou Football. His statue greets fans at the appropriately named Faurot Field. He is known for winning 100 games and creating the famed Split-T. He ignited the belief that Mizzou could matter nationally in football.
Dan Devine built on Faurot’s legacy to post the best winning percentage in modern program history (.697) and post four top-ten finishes from 1960 through 1969. In that era of triumph, Missouri Football was a big deal, earning bids to the Orange and Sugar Bowls. And in 1968, Ol’ Mizzou put a 35-10 whipping on Bear Bryant’s Alabama Crimson Tide in the Gator Bowl. Devine had a run of six bowls in 11 seasons in an era when bowl berths were difficult to achieve and actually meant something. Overall, in 13 total seasons at Missouri, only his last one was under .500.
Warren Powers kept the program going with five bowls in six years from 1978 through 1983 before the school inexplicably and stupidly de-emphasized the sport. In his time, Powers fielded some of the most talented teams in program history, with such legends as Phil Bradley and Kellen Winslow.
Larry Smith brought Missouri football back with two bowl bids and final rankings of 23rd in 1997 and 21st in 1998. But Smith faded with two losing seasons after that. Still, Smith has his rightful place in MU’s coaching legacy as the man who proved Mizzou could win again.
But it was Gary Pinkel who restored national relevance to Missouri. Pinkel produced five top 20 seasons from 2007 to 2014 with a serious look at the national championship in 2007 and 2013. He produced five double-digit win seasons and ten bowls in 12 years.
Most importantly, Pinkel made Mizzou valuable enough to get an invite to join the SEC. There, he led them to 2013 and 2014 SEC championship game appearances. Pinkel said he never left Mizzou because you can win a national championship there.
Now, Eli Drinkwitz has the full confidence and support of Tiger Nation to get Mizzou back to Atlanta, at the very least!
#Mizzou extends Coach Eli Drinkwitz through 2028.
The Tigers lock down their head coach after extending both coordinators as well. @CoMoSports https://t.co/SG1njni6FB
— Brandon Jenkins (@BrandonHaynes_) December 31, 2023
