Missouri places eye catching billboards in other SEC states

There are some that figure Missouri’s football program might fall back to the pack since they are moving to the SEC. There is one thing that could change that perception and that’s recruiting, the lifeblood to any program. The Tigers don’t have much of a tradition before head coach Gary Pinkel came to Missouri, but he has turned things around in a big way. They’ll be one of two new entrants in the SEC and have figured out a way to attract high level recruits from the traditional SEC powers. The Tigers have placed billboards along highways in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Dallas, and Memphis.    

The traditional SEC powers have kept those kids home and Missouri wants a piece of the action.

“Oh yes, I get text messages and emails from Mizzou people that live in that area and that region,” head coach Gary Pinkel told the AJC. “They talk about it and say how excited they are to see it.”


There are 16 billboards, including eight that have been placed out of state. There are three in Georgia, including two in Atlanta and one near Valdosta, while one each in Tampa, Fla., Dallas, Birmingham, Ala., Jacksonville, Fla., and Memphis. What was the idea behind the billboards?


“It’s to market Missouri,” Pinkel said. “We’ll be in Georgia recruiting. We’ve got great respect for the high school football in Georgia, especially in the Atlanta area. We’re just marketing our brand name a little bit. We’re going to get there and actively recruit … and we’re excited about it.”  


It’s a good idea to market the Missouri brand and make inroads into kids’ homes who otherwise might not think about going to Missouri. Kids see the billboards and become curious about the school. Not a bad move by any means.

“We’ve done a complete analysis of players that sign with BCS schools out of Georgia, and certainly out of the Atlanta area,” Pinkel said. “The size and production of SEC and BCS is parallel to the Metroplex area in Dallas. The numbers out of Atlanta and Dallas are nearly identical. Both have great high school football.


“What you do is go down there and figure out how many players from Georgia stay in the SEC and stay in the ACC, and how many leave the state and go elsewhere to play. We’ve got data on these kinds of things. And, if anything, it’s about identifying good players and selling Missouri.


“We want to go down there with a good reputation of winning football games and graduating our athletes. It’s about marketing and developing trust … and slowly and slowly working ourselves into Georgia. We’re excited about doing that.” 


“The facts are, in the last six years, we’re eighth in the BCS with winning in the nation. Those are facts. We’re certainly one of six teams that have won eight or more games in the last seven years. So we win at Missouri, and we consistently win. Over the last six years, we’ve graduated 96-percent of our players. Missouri is a great place and it’s a great college town with 33,000 students. Kids love to go to school here. We’ve got a lot to sell.”


Missouri has become a player in the college football world. Recruiting wise they’ve kept the best players in Kansas City and St. Louis from going elsewhere and have made some connections in talent rich Texas. They won’t get the kids deep in the heart of SEC country immediately but they’ll get some. And if they keep winning it’ll draw even more attention to the school.

Missouri’s Gary Pinkel separating from wife

Missouri head football coach Gary Pinkel is separating from his wife of nearly 40 years.

In a statement released Friday, Pinkel says he and Vicki, his wife of nearly 40 years, separated earlier this year. He thanks friends and family for their support and says ”I would ask that you please respect the privacy of the entire Pinkel family during this difficult time.’‘

Let’s just hope this isn’t due to any scandalous activity. At this moment no one knows why but that’s an awful lot of years to flush down the toilet.

The M In Missouri Will Stand For Mediocrity

Missouri will be leaving the Big 12 for the SEC. When you look at the bottom line (money) I’m sure it stands to be a good move, except from a travel standpoint where moving to the Big Ten would’ve made more sense for both parties.

The problem I have is from a sports point of view, especially football. I think Missouri will be able to compete in basketball. They have a traditionally strong program and will be able to hang with most of the teams in the SEC, Kentucky and Florida are the exceptions. The Tigers will strengthen the SEC as a basketball league. They should be able to bring in their share of high profile recruits and finish in the upper division.

Football is a different story. The Tigers have had some recent success in the Big 12 and have gained a reasonable foothold recruiting the talent rich state of Texas. They’ve also been successful in keeping the best in-state kids at home. There is Texas and Oklahoma in the Big 12, but I think it’s easier to recruit against those schools than it will be against LSU, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and the list goes on. And that’s just off the field. I guess it’s time to adopt the SEC style of recruiting. And no I don’t want to hear how (insert school here) is clean and does it right.

On the field I don’t see the Tigers consistently competing with the top tier SEC teams. They can be a dangerous opponent but I just don’t see them beating a loaded Alabama team. Or Florida. Or LSU. It is possible that they could pull off a shocker here and there, but that’s it. Other than that, they just went from being one of the Big 12’s top four teams to being a Texas Tech like program. Someone that will rise up from time to time but will never be a threat to win it all. I know it will piss off Missouri fans, but I see the football team sinking into mediocrity and could ultimately cost Gary Pinkel his job.

Gary Pinkel Fingers Dan Beebe For The Big 12’s Problems

In an interview on Tim Brando’s Yahoo! Sports show, Missouri head football coach Gary Pinkel didn’t mince words when he talked about the problems the Big 12 conference is having trying to stay together.

“Obviously, we have some issues in our league. When you have Nebraska leave one year. Colorado leaves. Also now Texas A&M. Three really good football teams. … You know, we’ve got some issues. Without question there’s some issues that other leagues don’t have. You don’t hear anything about any other league in the country having these kind of problems. We all know where it starts. Mike Alden’s not the point man here. Dan Beebe is. Dan Beebe’s our commissioner. He’s the guy to ask. I don’t know what they’re going to do. I’m just focusing now on winning the football game. … There’s just no one in the country, no other league in the country, where this stuff goes on. And it’s really a shame because the potential of the league is just so tremendous. Anyway, I have no control over it. We’re just trying to beat Miami (Ohio).”

This is almost a repeat of what he said in Dallas for Big 12 media days in late July. He lays the blame right at Dan Beebe’s feet for pretty much bowing down to Texas and letting them call the shots in the Big 12. The fact that Nebraska left should have been a red flag right there. To chase off one of the original Big 6 teams takes some work. It’s clear Beebe will do whatever he needs to keep Texas happy. Tom Osborne is far too classy to come out and say why the Huskers bolted though I think most of us with a pulse can figure out why. I think Pinkel summed up what a lot of others in the conference are thinking but won’t say. Texas A&M simply went public with it albeit in a very aggressive manner.

It’s beginning to look like the Big 12 may crumble sooner than expected.

Is Mike Anderson Heading To Arkansas?

Is Missouri head basketball coach Mike Anderson heading to Arkansas? I guess it depends on who you ask.

There are differing opinions about where Anderson will be coaching next year. A Twitter post from Chris Lincoln, sports director of KTUL-TV in Tulsa, indicated that Anderson is the man at Arkansas. “Reports out of Arkansas say Mizzou coach Mike Anderson to be introduced tomorrow in Fayetteville as Razorbacks new head basketball coach.”

CBSSports.com’s Gary Parrish cited a source, saying Anderson is “close to reaching an agreement in principle to become Arkansas’ men’s basketball coach, but a deal has not been finalized.” CBSSports.com also reported that “there are still things to work out,” but “barring a breakdown it appears Anderson will ultimately leave Missouri for Arkansas.”

Anderson’s former mentor, Nolan Richardson, could not confirm or deny such speculation.

“I didn’t know anything about him going there,” Richardson said. 

When asked about Anderson’s intentions about returning to Arkansas and if Anderson has had any contact with the Razorbacks, Richardson had this to say. “Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know. He probably would. But I know Mike is out working right now. I don’t think he has (had conversations with Arkansas). I don’t think he has done that.”

Right now Anderson is saying all the right things regarding his status at Missouri, which usually means that someone is ready to jump ship. At least that’s what typically happens. Anderson said he wouldn’t deal with the Arkansas rumors Thursday.

“I’m excited about what’s taking place at Missouri and I plan on being at Missouri,” Anderson told the Columbia Daily Tribune. “That’s the bottom line. We’ve done some great things and we’ll continue to do some great things. I’ve got a young basketball team.”

I guess we’ll have to stay tuned to see how this plays out.
  




   

 

Kansas And Missouri Fans Angry Over Switch

Yesterday on CBS there was three minutes left in the Kansas-Missouri game and the network pulled the switch on the game, changing to Michigan-Michigan State or Arizona-Oregon, all depending on where you lived.

Fans in Kansas and Missouri weren’t too happy about it. Of course some took to Twitter to voice their displeasure.

The Kansas City CBS affiliate offered an apology, but the fans weren’t buying it. You can fool some some of the time but not all of the time. 

Mr. Smith Goes To The Hall Of Fame

New York Jets wide reciever Brad Smith will be one of six inductees into the University of Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame. Not to knock Smith’s athletic endeavors, but this will be the only Hall of Fame he’ll get to. Nonetheless, it’s a remarkable acheivment for Smith, who’ll do plenty more athletically than I’ll ever do.

Smith had a very good career as a quarterback for Missouri. He broke 69 school, Big 12 and NCAA records while leading the Tigers. Smith was also the first quarterback in Division I-A to throw for more than 8,000 yards and run for more than 4,000 yards and finished his career fourth in total offense with 13,088 yards. He also won a Heisman and a national championship for me on the Playstation. I just had to throw that in there because he was unstoppable in that game.

I hate the fact that Smith never got a shot at quarterback in the NFL. But he has a career, so I don’t feel too bad for him.