Aggies/Tigers of Missouri take two different approaches at media day.

deliveryman35 said:

This shows what I've always said to be true--Missouri does not align itself with the South and are very midwestern in their culture. This alone always made them an odd fit for the SEC to me. Even Pinkel kept rambling on yesterday in his Q/A segment about how they would basically not be making many adjustments and kept bragging about the old Big 12. Somebody needs to tell him that he's in the SEC now....

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Well, I would say you are half right. If you are in northern Missouri, think Iowa. If you are in southern Missouri, think Arkansas. Given that the population centers and media are found in the northern part of the more the cultural differences in the southern part of the state don't get much recognition.

Missouri is solid academically - more in line with UGA, UF and Bama, but not so much with the Barn or MSU.

motigers said:

What is your definition of "far worse"? Is it based on results of actual football games? Because over the past decade, Missouri is 5-1 against A&M including beating them in College Station the past two years.

Yes, you would think that A&M would be a lot better than Mizzou given their fertile recruiting area and larger budget, but in the recent past Mizzou has done much more with less. I believe that along with the benefits of being in the best conference in the land as well as the Missouri administration's increased support of athletics (which has not always been the case) Mizzou will be in a position to build the program to SEC standards. It may not be immediate, but in time Mizzou will compete in the SEC.

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Right you are, but Missouri has a real good coach and A&M has not had a good coach in a long time. It does not matter how much talent there is out there or if you have a big budget, if your coach is a dud you will underachieve....look at the history of the Tide over that past 30 years. If Sumlin is a top notch coach the Aggies will be good, and soon. If he turns out to be a dud the Aggies will continue their underachieving habits indefinately.

CrimsonCrusade said:

As I have said from the beginning, neither of these teams belong in the SEC and both will be crushed in conference play. That said, Missouri is both a far worse team and fit for the SEC than Texas A&M is.

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You are in for a big surprise. Like some others on here you are equating TAMU and Mizzou with Vanderbilt.

Had no idea both schools were so badly outsized. Might be a long year. Still, I won't be the least bit surprised if UGA does down in Columbia.

Re: Aggies/Tigers of Missouri take two different approaches to at media day.

Bamabuzzard said:

But he told me that one thing we'd notice about Missouri fans real quick was that they're a fanbase will brag about how great they are but yet has never won much of anything. I laughed, but I'll guess we'll see.

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I grew up in Illinois and you NEVER hear anything about Mizzou up there. I think they are going to be very Ole Miss like.

Re: Aggies/Tigers of Missouri take two different approaches to at media day.

motigers said:

As it should, since it isn't true. I would like to see examples of Missouri fans or officials disparaging the SEC's academic reputation.

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Missouri's administrators have publicly stated their disdain for the SEC's "lack of academic prowess." Or, maybe it was in emails that were made public.

There is a palpable lack of respect for the SEC that comes from Missouri public figures. As I said earlier in the thread, this is not necessarily so with the fan base and I don't think it's so with the student body. But I get the feeling that if every Missouri person were forced to tell the truth, they're only here (the SEC) for the money.

But again, we'll see. Arkansas and South Carolina never made sense to me either and in some strange way, it feels like they belong now.

Re: Aggies/Tigers of Missouri take two different approaches to at media day.

TideEngineer08 said:

Missouri's administrators have publicly stated their disdain for the SEC's "lack of academic prowess." Or, maybe it was in emails that were made public.

There is a palpable lack of respect for the SEC that comes from Missouri public figures. As I said earlier in the thread, this is not necessarily so with the fan base and I don't think it's so with the student body. But I get the feeling that if every Missouri person were forced to tell the truth, they're only here (the SEC) for the money.

But again, we'll see. Arkansas and South Carolina never made sense to me either and in some strange way, it feels like they belong now.

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I honestly don’t remember these public disparagings by Missouri officials and as a concerned MU fan I followed the whole conference realignment issue very closely. I did a google search and still couldn’t find anything except for a couple stories that mentioned “some” professors that had been concerned but after further research of the facts found out that their perceptions were wrong. Again, as I said earlier, I’m sure some of the academic folks wanted to go to the Big 10 because of the research dollars and resources associated with the CIC but that does not mean the Missouri administration thinks the SEC is an academic wasteland.

But regardless of all that, why does anyone care about what some Missouri academic administrators or professors might think about the SEC? I have never given any thought to what some professors or administrators at Alabama think about Missouri. Aren’t the opinions of the fans much more important?

I’ll tell you this, everyone around here is excited about the weekend of October 13. And it really isn’t because we’re looking forward to playing the Alabama football team. To be honest, not many of us are too optimistic about the outcome of the game. We’re excited because of you, the Bama fans (as well as visiting fans of other SEC schools). Everyone is talking about the hoards of Bama fans expected to come to Columbia that weekend. Special arrangements are being made to handle the invasion and show you a good time. I hope you can live up to the hype! It doesn’t make much sense that we would look down our noses at Alabama and the rest of the SEC but yet be excited to have you visit our state.

CrimsonCrusade said:

As I have said from the beginning, neither of these teams belong in the SEC and both will be crushed in conference play. That said, Missouri is both a far worse team and fit for the SEC than Texas A&M is.

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This is the general thought I've heard from most Alabama fans - but I'm curious as to why that is. To me, Mizzou has pretty clearly been the better program recently. Here's what they look like over the past 10 years:

Texas A&M (64-60)
Mizzou (81-47)
H2H - Mizzou leads 5-1

National Scoring Defense Rank:
2011: Mizzou 44, TAMU 70
2010: Mizzou 6, TAMU 34
2009: Mizzou 59, TAMU 105
2008: Mizzou 69, TAMU 114
2007: Mizzou 37, TAMU 50
2006: Mizzou 33, TAMU 44

National Scoring Offense Rank:

2011: Mizzou 30, TAMU 11
2010: Mizzou 43, TAMU 34
2009: Mizzou 49, TAMU 19
2008: Mizzou 6, TAMU 64
2007: Mizzou 8, TAMU 57
2006: Mizzou 20, TAMU 34

There's clearly a better team here, but it ain't Texas A&M.

I am a Mizzou alum and Bama employee. I have never heard or seen so much silly hearsay in my life as I have read in this single thread. Mizzou fans are ecstatic about the SEC. Didn't anyone read the other thread about how difficult it is to get a ticket to the Mizzou-Bama game? That is not a reflection of an apathetic fan base. Our season tickets are sold out and we just announced a $200 million sports expansion plan. Again, is that the response of a fan base that didn't want to join the SEC?

Also, there has not been a single solitary disparaging remark about the SEC, ever, by Mizzou's administration. And in regards to the interview with TJ Moe at media days, do Bama fans want a Mizzou starter to say in an interview "We suck. We won't win a single game." I hope not.

Folks, visit Mizzou and then report back about the enthusiasm of our fan base. Conversations with a ku fan, or someone's second cousins nephew who flew through St. Louis shouldn't count as reliable source for anything related to Mizzou. We are more than excited to be in the SEC!

Hmmm... I may be remembering some other University's officials spouting off about academics. There is this:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/s...-hope-join-sec-had-wanted-big-ten-invite-most

In which a Missouri school official says they wanted the Big Ten invite but would settle for the SEC because "that's what's left."

Regardless, it doesn't much matter anymore. If the fans and students are excited, that will be great.

Oh yes, I remember that story. That AP reporter had worked at MU and had been fired (before the story). So I dont give a lot of credibility to the source (anonymous).

There was the public perception that Mizzou wanted to join the B10. But when the email records were made public, there was never any conversation or contact between the B10 and Mizzou. Mizzou was committed to the B12 until Ou's president D. Boran came out and made his "we won't be wall flowers" in the expansion circus. That was when Mizzou said enough is enough with the B12.

Not trying to clog a Bama board with Mizzou history, but I want to make crystal clear that the MU family is thrilled to be in the SEC. You will see that first hand if you travel to Columbia.

jangalang said:

Depends on which part of the state of Missouri you're talking about.

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I'm more familiar with the southern part of the state, particularly the Joplin/Springfield/Branson area, which is where I spent 10 yrs of my life. Though socially conservative and firmly inside the Bible Belt, the people in these areas are much more like people in Oklahoma and Kansas than they are people in Mississippi or Alabama. Their state is not part of the "Old South" and does not share the same history, like all the rest of our states in our conference do.

I respect Mizzou's football program, and understand the rationale for expanding into their state, however I simply felt that there were better options and other schools with fan bases that were more aligned with our culture and values that would have assimilated better into the SEC--like the schools in North Carolina, Virginia, or even West Virginia. Maybe in the end I will be proven wrong, but at the time the decision was made that was my opinion.

I have alot of friends in Columbia (lived there for 9 years) and have in-laws there. I have never been treated with any kind of disrespect for being southern and all the MU fans I have known have always given props to the SEC and BAMA. Everyone I know up there that follows MU are ecstatic to be in the SEC. They didn't want any part of the BIG whatever. I really don't know where some of you are getting your info at (particularly those of you who have never lived there or really known anyone from there). Those are some good people up there. We all have our HOMERS who make the rest of the fan base look bad but don't judge the whole MU fan base by just a few. I have had so many of my friends up there asking me for all kinds of info about the SEC and some of the different traditions at the various schools are are anxious to go to some away games to see different things.
You're dead wrong if you don't think MU fans as a whole want to be a part of the SEC.

Mizzou does not belong, especially in the East. They are here for some stability and Cash, and I expect will not be around in a decade.

bamaslaw said:

This is the general thought I've heard from most Alabama fans - but I'm curious as to why that is. To me, Mizzou has pretty clearly been the better program recently. Here's what they look like over the past 10 years:

Texas A&M (64-60)
Mizzou (81-47)
H2H - Mizzou leads 5-1

National Scoring Defense Rank:
2011: Mizzou 44, TAMU 70
2010: Mizzou 6, TAMU 34
2009: Mizzou 59, TAMU 105
2008: Mizzou 69, TAMU 114
2007: Mizzou 37, TAMU 50
2006: Mizzou 33, TAMU 44

National Scoring Offense Rank:

2011: Mizzou 30, TAMU 11
2010: Mizzou 43, TAMU 34
2009: Mizzou 49, TAMU 19
2008: Mizzou 6, TAMU 64
2007: Mizzou 8, TAMU 57
2006: Mizzou 20, TAMU 34

There's clearly a better team here, but it ain't Texas A&M.

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You are right about recent history. A&M hasn't had a good coach since R. C. Slocum, and he was only good, not great.

I think Missouri is about as good as they are going to get; they are not likely to get a better coach although they might bring in a little more talent with their SEC connection. A&M has has much greater upside than Missouri.

Just posting to get in on the ground floor of this impending comeuppance

deliveryman35 said:

I'm more familiar with the southern part of the state, particularly the Joplin/Springfield/Branson area, which is where I spent 10 yrs of my life. Though socially conservative and firmly inside the Bible Belt, the people in these areas are much more like people in Oklahoma and Kansas than they are people in Mississippi or Alabama. Their state is not part of the "Old South" and does not share the same history, like all the rest of our states in our conference do.

I respect Mizzou's football program, and understand the rationale for expanding into their state, however I simply felt that there were better options and other schools with fan bases that were more aligned with our culture and values that would have assimilated better into the SEC--like the schools in North Carolina, Virginia, or even West Virginia. Maybe in the end I will be proven wrong, but at the time the decision was made that was my opinion.

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State boundaries are not an accurate representation of the extent of southern culture in the border states. The actual limits are rather hard to determine as the south blends into something else. That is why A&M is a good fit for the SEC and Texas-El Paso would not be.

As far as the "Old South" I won't bore you with history but the southern half of Missouri was most definately old south and did share a great deal of our history. More the shame if there is not much of that left.