Football has been a sporting tradition at the University State of Missouri for years. The name of the team itself has been a historical icon and is of far better significance than anyone can imagine – the Missouri Tigers were heroes of Columbia and saved the city from the loyalist of Confederates during the Civil war. The Tiger’s tradition is one that is proud may it be on or off the field. The other name for the Missouri Tigers is Mizzou, and they are the only team to have competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Their football history may have not included a National Championship, but they make their impression on the sport in other forms of championships and one of the most enduring traditions in football, and that is the homecoming.

What is the significance of the conference name?
The name of the conference where Missouri has been a member for a century has repeatedly changed; making it difficult for observers outside to track it down even if the purpose of changing the conference name was to reflect the alterations of the number of affiliated schools taking part in the structure. The first of its name was lengthy and indeed it was worth the change as it was known before as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association. As it gained more schools in its affiliations the conference made a lot of changes in its name. The first unofficial names were the Big Six in 1928 and the Big Seven in 1957, until the official name of the conference changed from MVIAA to the Big Eight Conference in the year 1964, and after some time it was expanded and renamed the Big Twelve in 1996, The conference affiliation of Missouri remains unchanged, however the literature on its school has undergone many revisions.

Victories and Defeats
The Tigers have been competing with the North Division of the Big Twelve since 1996. The school was able to win 15 championships in the conference they’re in, and two division championships in addition. The Tigers are competitive in almost all conferences they were in, unlike other football teams that were considered as strong teams but were inconsistent and had suffered considerable losses. They even made a milestone in history ranking number one in the nation for two occasions that were separate. First was in 1960, and then the second was in 2007 where the team defeated Kansas. It was however unfortunate that neither two games on different occasions paved the way for a game leading to national championship. But the Tigers were close to achieving it in 2007, and they ranked four in the national level finishing the season.

Origins of the Homecoming
A lot of experts in Football admire the University of Missouri for starting a tradition that has endured through time – the homecoming. It was 1911, when the athletic director of the school made and distributed invitations for alumnus to return to their city of original to watch and enjoy their football game with Kansas. The affair was a celebration of the students returning to their Alma Matter, and it made beautiful impression that it was repeated the succeeding years. This was eventually emulated by other schools around the country, and it now becomes a universal tradition to almost all educational institutions in America.

Author Bio: Ivan Jamison is a big sports fan. You can check out his Missouri Tigers Watch or his Chicago Cubs Watch or his Detroit Tigers Watch

Category: Sports
Keywords: Missouri TIgers