Tiger Row

TIGER ROW

FALL 2014

VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 2

Exclusively for members of the Tiger Scholarship Fund

University of Missouri Department of Intercollegiate Athletics

alden’s corner on the cover: Football players Evan Boehm, Maty Mauk and Markus Golden

TIGER ROW FALL 2014 Men’s Football Preview — Page 4 — Recruiting Success Story — Page 8 — SEC Network Launch — Page 10 — A Basketball Homecoming — Page 12 — Donor Profile: John & Kathy Qualy — Page 14 — Walsworth Golf Facility — Page 16 — Faculty Profile: Leigh Neier — Page 18 — Truman’s Terrace Tailgating — Page 20 — Coaching Profile: Pat Ivey — Page 21 — Coaching Profile: Jamie Sweeney — Page 24 — New Cross Country Coach — Page 25 — Athlete Profile: Kaitlyn Fischer — Page 26 — Michael Sam Wins Arthur Ashe Courage Award — Page 27 — Chancellor Loftin Knows His Way Around The SEC! — Page 27 — Mizzou Nostalgia: 50 Years Ago...Mizzou Baseball — Page 27 —

Dear TSF Family:

T

he fall is always such an exciting time of the year in higher education, and we are enthusiastic about the upcoming year at the University of Missouri. Continued record enrollment numbers, our world-class faculty and staff, the leadership of Chancellor Loftin and his team … and the Tigers all combine for such “electricity” in and around Missouri As we begin our third year in the SEC, we certainly appreciate the successes we had in 2013-14, and look forward to building on those in 2014-15. One key component of those successes will prove to be the SEC Network, which launched officially on Aug. 14. The Network will provide unprecedented coverage of Mizzou and the SEC, and will further define the SEC as the strongest intercollegiate conference in the country.

We are pleased with the distribution so far, working hard to gain further distribution, and we know that at full “maturity” the SEC Network will be a great asset to the entire University of Missouri — not just Athletics.

We are thankful for the generous support of our thousands of alums, season ticket holders and members of the Tiger Scholarship Fund.

To continue to gain momentum and grow our support for our students, we have to look at three primary areas on which to concentrate.

We must continue to grow our TSF through increased membership, and also increased annual giving. We currently rank 11th or 12th in the SEC and see this as an opportunity to move up in those rankings.

We also are emphasizing season ticket sales and attendance as another important priority; with the “competition” from other discretionary activities, we must provide a game-day environment that compels people to be with us in person.

Finally, we see our multimedia rights value as an area for significant growth. We will be working with our partners to grow that area and bring it more in line with peer programs and something that will more accurately reflect the value of the Mizzou brand.

MizzouMade is a special representation of the values of our university. We are proud of our students, coaches and staff and how they reflect those values every day. We’re looking forward to growing every day socially, academically and competitively. Thank you for all you do for Mizzou!

Go Tigers!

Mike Alden

Director of Athletics

Fall 2014 573-442-1430

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preview

tiger football

Defending Their Honor W

hat a difference a year makes.

Left for the scrap heap by pundits after a tough 5-7 debut season in the Southeastern Conference in 2012, the Missouri Tigers turned the national narrative around 180 degrees with a comeback season for the ages in 2013.

After receiving nary a single vote in the pre-season top-25 polls, while being predicted to finish sixth in the SEC East Division, Head Coach Gary Pinkel’s squad turned in one of the best seasons in Mizzou’s history, going 12-2 overall, including a 7-1 mark in SEC play. The team won the SEC East title along the way, while reaching the SEC Championship

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Game in only its second year in the league.

After a thrill-a-minute SEC title game loss to Auburn, which kept Mizzou out of the BCS National Championship Game, the Tigers closed out their magical season in exciting fashion — with a 41-31 win over former Big 12 rival Oklahoma State in the 2014 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic.

That win put the cap on an amazing season, and also secured Pinkel’s 102nd win as Mizzou’s head coach, making him the winningest coach in school history.

Now that the Tigers are no longer under the radar anymore, just what will they do for an encore in 2014?

The 2014 Mizzou Tigers will return a solid mix of proven veterans, experienced underclassmen, and talented newcomers who will look to keep the momentum rolling.

Eleven position starters return in 2014 for Mizzou, with five on defense and four on offense, in addition to two specialists. It’s also important to note that there are 18 Tigers in all with starting experience under their belts (nine on offense, seven on defense and the two specialists), so this squad has a seasoned feel to it entering the fall.

Even with the exciting talent back in the fold for Pinkel and staff to work with, the national pundits still are taking a bit of a wait-and-see approach for Mizzou this year. Respect definitely was gained after last year’s impressive showing, but the Tigers still have to earn their stripes in 2014.

The SEC media bumped Mizzou up a couple of spots in its annual pre-season predicted order of finish this summer, picking the Tigers to finish fourth in their first-ever division title defense. When the USA Today/Coaches Top-25 preseason poll was released on July 31, the Tigers had garnered enough votes to be 26th — just one spot shy of debuting in the top-25 to start the year.

Coach Pinkel was asked prior to the season if he felt like last year’s success vindicated the struggles his team suffered through in an injury-plagued 2012 SEC debut.

“I don’t really get into that,” Pinkel said. “I don’t get into what is said or what’s predicted. Someone apologized to me recently for the way they voted us last year, and I got a kick out of that.

When I became the head football coach at Missouri, I wanted to be respected nationally and in the Big 12, and now obviously it’s the SEC. This is important to me, and you do that by continuing to win and graduate your kids,” he said.

One of the biggest topics of the pre-season was the development of sophomore QB Maty Mauk, who has been handed the reins to run the Tiger offense that was so potent a year ago. Pinkel was pleased with the job Mauk has done to get himself ready prior to the season.

“I think Maty is a very natural leader,” Pinkel said. “I knew that when he was in high school. He was one of those guys who loves to play football, loves to compete. I think he’s a good dual-threat guy. He can run. He’s got very good speed. He puts a lot of pressure on the defense utilizing that and his passing abilities,” he said.

“His leadership is very non-threatening, too,” Pinkel continued. “First of all, he’s got a great work ethic. He’s a winner, and players know it. He’s a remarkable competitor.

They know that too. They respect the way he leads because he does it in a very, very positive and encouraging way.

We’re very fortunate to have a young player like him. That’s why he did so well last year when we threw him in there as a freshman. There’s a reason guys are like that. Certainly, if you asked him, he’d tell you he’s got a lot to prove, but I guarantee there’s no one more excited about getting the opportunity than that guy.”

2014 Squad Breakdown >>> Total Starters Returning

11

Starters Lost

13

Career Starts Returning

231

Career Starts Lost

356

Lettermen Returning

39

Lettermen Lost

24

>>> Offense Starters Returning

4

Starters Lost

7

Career Starts Returning Career Starts Lost

98 196

Lettermen Returning

17

Lettermen Lost

11

>>> Defense Starters Returning

5

Starters Lost

6

Career Starts Returning Career Starts Lost

93 170

Lettermen Returning

20

Lettermen Lost

13

>>> Specialists Starters Returning

2

Starters Lost

0

Career Starts Returning

40

Careers Starts Lost

0

Lettermen Returning

2

Lettermen Lost

0

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tiger football

First-Year Quarterback Starters Under Pinkel At Mizzou One thing that Gary Pinkel has always been blessed with is outstanding quarterback play. Here’s a look at the stats put up by first-year starters under center for Pinkel at Mizzou. Maty Mauk’s four starts in relief of an injured James Franklin in 2013 are not included in this graphic.

PASSING

rushing

total off

Year

Tiger

G-GS

Yds.

TDs

INTs

Rush Yds.

TDs

Yards

TDs

2002

Brad Smith

12-12

2,333

15

6

1,029

7

3,362

22

2006

Chase Daniel

13-13

3,527

28

10

379

4

3,906

32

2009

Blaine Gabbert

13-13

3,593

24

9

204

3

3,797

27

2011

James Franklin

13-13

2,865

21

11

981

15

3,846

36

2014

Maty Mauk

Walker Retires, Ricker Comes Home

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O

ne of the trademarks of Gary Pinkel’s program is stability within his coaching staff. In Pinkel’s 13 previous seasons at Mizzou, he’s had only four coaching changes, giving MU an unheard of continuity within the program and out on the recruiting trails.

That continuity got stirred a little this off-season when longtime assistant Bruce Walker decided to retire from the coaching profession in order to move back to his native Washington state to be with family. Walker had coached MU tight ends and assisted on the offensive line since 2001, when Pinkel came over from Toledo. In all, Walker was with Pinkel for 18 years, including five at Toledo.

Walker’s departure opened the door for a former Tiger standout to come home. A.J. Ricker, who was a First-Team All-Big 12 center for Pinkel as a senior

“The 2014 Mizzou Tigers will return a solid mix of proven veterans, experienced underclassmen, and talented newcomers...”

in 2003, was tabbed to fill Walker’s spot and lead the Tiger offensive line. Ricker has coached for eight years since leaving his playing days behind, and he spent the last year as the offensive line coach at Illinois.

“Obviously, coming home is a big deal to me,” said Ricker. “But I want people to know that’s not the important thing. I’m coming here to do a job to teach the game and do it at a really high level. My biggest focus is to get there and take what I’ve learned over the years, roll up my sleeves and get to work and help us win a lot of ballgames. Certainly, it’s an honor to coach at your alma mater, and I’m grateful to Coach Pinkel and his staff for bringing me on,” he said.

Ricker earned his undergraduate degree from Mizzou in agriculture in 2004. Following gradu-

ation, Ricker signed a free-agent contract with the NFL’s Chicago Bears and was allocated to the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe in 2005. In 2006, and for part of 2007, he was a member of the Arena League’s Tampa Bay Storm before retiring. He served as a graduate assistant coach at Western Michigan in 2006 and 2007, and moved to a fulltime role in 2008, before moving to St. Joseph’s College, where he was offensive line coach in 2009 and then served as head coach in 2010. Ricker then returned to WMU as offensive line coach and rungame coordinator for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, before joining Illinois last season.

Ricker married the former Lauren Mattaliano in 2011, and the couple has an infant son, Andrew, who was born in February of this year.

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The Flyin’ Hawaiian

T

The Flyin’ Hawaiian is the nickname for the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year and a player who will undoubtedly turn into the face of the Mizzou volleyball program during her next three seasons. Always smiling, Carly Kan turned the heads of fans and opponents around the SEC last season, not only by playing at a very high level, but doing so at a very unorthodox height. At 5 feet 9 inches tall, Kan is one of the smallest outside hitters in the nation.

“Some of the plays that she makes leave you scratching your head,” head coach Wayne Kreklow said. “She’s just so athletic, and after growing up in Hawaii, she learned how to play the game despite being undersized.”

Kan grew up playing beach volleyball against opponents who were much bigger than she was. And while most would have struggled in that scenario, Kan thrived. In fact, the height disadvantage while playing in one of the nation’s toughest high school volleyball environments likely led to Kan being able to step in and make a huge impact on a Mizzou volleyball team that became the

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first team in SEC history to finish a season unbeaten.

“When I came in as a freshman I just hoped to play,” Kan said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would start and play outside hitter.”

In fact, not even Wayne Kreklow and his staff thought she would play outside hitter as she was recruited as the future libero of the program for her great defensive and passing ability.

“After she committed, we kept getting calls from club coaches saying ‘your libero led us in kills again tonight,’ so when she got here we decided to get her some reps at outside hitter,” Kreklow said.

Kan wound up being a huge missing piece from a Tiger team that went from 19-12 in 2012, to 35-1 and SEC Champions in 2013. She is the only freshman in program history to earn AVCA All-America honors and was the AVCA Southeast Freshman of the Year. She tallied 383 kills on .364 hitting, a freshman record among outside hitters at Mizzou.

“Last year was just so awesome,” Kan said. “We had great senior leaders and they set a great example for everyone else to follow. I just did what they needed me to do. I never expected to win so many awards.”

Not only did Kan have a big impact on what is currently the best team in program history, but she may have opened up a pipeline for Wayne Kreklow and his staff to recruit in Hawaii. Before 2013, Mizzou had never had a Hawaiian on the team, but last year Kan and fellow Honolulu native Loxley Keala gave Mizzou two after joining the program. After playing for opposing high schools, the two had built a rivalry and hadn’t learned of their recruitment to Mizzou until after they had both committed. Once they knew they were both going to Mizzou, they played together on the beach and never lost.

“We have gotten so much closer coming here,” Keala said of Kan. “I feel like we’ve both made things easier for each other. We both know what each other is going through and our parents are far away. It has definitely helped a lot.”

Mizzou swept Kentucky last October in front of fans who were donning leis and Hawaiian shirts, so it’s safe to say that over the next three seasons, fans can expect to get a little Hawaiian flair every time they come into the Hearnes Center.

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tiger football

HEADLINE

The Birth of a Network >>> On May 2, 2013, the Southeastern Conference and ESPN announced a 20-year partnership that would maximize the league’s exposure with the launch of the SEC Network.

And while Mizzou and SEC fans were expressing their excitement for an all-SEC, all-the-time network, the Mizzou Department of Athletics and Mizzou Network Director Stan Silvey were busy planning.

S

ilvey and his staff knew that preparation was going to be key as they worked to meet ESPN’s requirements for what each school should have on campus.

“I feel like we were in a good position because we didn’t really have a control room,” Silvey said. “We were able to cater it to exactly what they (ESPN) were asking. It made my job easier because I could say: ‘What do you want us to do? What do you want us to get?”

The results are impressive. Silvey, with the help of Mizzou Information Technologies staff and the Mizzou administration, built a brand new, state-of-the-art control room inside Mizzou Arena. It is wired with fiber optics and is a fully functioning television studio to produce live games, which will be the focal point of the SEC Network.

According to Silvey, there will be nearly 1,000 live sporting events shown across the SEC Network next

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season. Divide those nearly 1,000 events by 14 SEC schools, and you come up with nearly 71 live, ESPNquality broadcasts that each school will be responsible for producing. That’s quite an undertaking for a school that did not even have a control room until April of this year. But Silvey and his staff are ready.

“We had to hire some staff,” Silvey said. “We also ran fiber out to all of the venues that we will be doing the events from. Those are the big things. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it took a lot of organizing.”

The SEC Network will change the culture of the Mizzou Network. Since its inception, Mizzou Network was strictly a Web-based platform, cutting and editing highlight packages, music videos and behind-the-scenes interviews.

While that production will still exist, the new focus will be the live events and making Mizzou Network an extension of ESPN and the SEC Network.

The newly constructed studio, which spans nearly the entire length of the Mizzou Arena student section, was finished in April. The control room will be able to communicate with each of ESPN’s centralized hubs in Bristol, Conn., and Charlotte, N.C. It features 13 computers and several high definition monitors. A separate control room was built to handle the video board at Mizzou Arena as well. Also, at Memorial Stadium a Bureau Room was installed where Tiger coaches and athletes can link into Bristol or Charlotte within minutes to do live interviews

with the SEC Network.

“I think it’s going to be about $2.5 million in total investment,” Silvey said. “It feels like a really big number, but for what we built we feel it was a bargain because we built a broadcast facility. This is a 20-year deal between ESPN and the SEC so we are going to get a lot of use out of it. These ESPN productions will be able to give our fans that have SEC Network high quality broadcasts of these sports.”

So what can fans expect from the SEC Network, which has already been picked up by DISH Network, DirecTV, AT&T U-verse, Cox and Google Fiber among others? It will be the hub for 45 football games, 100 men’s basketball games, 75 baseball games, 60 women’s basketball games, 40 volleyball games and 25

women’s soccer games.

The programming is spread across both a linear (regular cable television) and a digital platform (via ESPN3).

For example, this fall the defending SEC Champion Mizzou volleyball team will have a league-high 10 games on the SEC Network and then six additional contests on the digital platform, meaning that 16 of Mizzou’s 18 conference matches will reach a national audience.

Many of those events will be produced in-house by Silvey and his staff. Part of the money spent was to bring in new positions to help with the broadcasts. Mizzou has hired a broadcast engineer, a director and a graphic artist. But even with the new positions, Silvey expects his partnership with the academic

programs at Mizzou — such as the journalism school, communications school and sports management program — to be a big part of what goes on with the SEC Network.

“It’s a great platform for us to work (Missouri) students in,” Silvey said.

“There is definitely an academic element here. Students can get realworld experience and it will help them get jobs. We are promoting our sports and our athletic department and our university every time we are up on this platform. And we also get to educate our students.

SEC NETWORK EVENTS FALL 2014 - MIZZOU Volleyball – 10 Linear, 6 Digital Soccer – 2 Linear, 8 Digital Football – Linear vs. UCF (Sep. 13)

Providers That Will Carry SEC Network • Arthur Mutual Telephone Co. • AT&T U-verse • Audeamus, LLC (aka Kerman Telephone) • Ayersville Telephone Co. • BEK Communications Cooperative • Brookings Municipal Utilities dba Swiftel Communications • CenCom Inc. IPTV • Central Arkansas Telephone Cooperative • Charter • Chickamauga Telephone Corp.

• City of Dunnellon dba Greenlight Dunnellon Communications • Com Net Inc. • Comcast Xfinity • Cox • DISH • DirecTV • Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative Inc. • Fulton Telephone Co. • Garden Valley Telephone Co. IPTV • Glandorf Telephone Co. • Google Fiber • Grafton Technologies • Greenlight Dunnellon Communications

• IdeaTek Systems Inc. • Integra Telecom Inc. • McClure Telephone Co. • Mediacom • Mid-Plains Rural Telephone dba Mid-Plains Communications • North Dakota Telephone Co. • Northeast Missouri Rural Telephone Co. • Palmetto Rural Telephone Cooperative (PRTC) • Plateau Telecommunications • Randolph Telephone Membership Corp.

• Rural Burleigh Cable • Siren Communications • Southern Montana Telephone Co. • SPTC Telcom • Suddenlink • Time Warner Cable • Trenton Telephone Co. • dba Tennessee Valley Network (TVN) • Tri-County Telephone Assoc. (IPTV) • United Telephone Mutual Aid Corp. IPTV • Valu-Net LLC • Vaughnsville Telephone Co. • Waldron Telephone Co. • Yadkin Valley Telecom IPTV

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tiger BASKETball

A Basketball Homecoming

O

n April 28, 2014, Kim Anderson was hired to be the 18th basketball coach in University of Missouri program history, and no coach since his hardwood mentor, Norm Stewart, has been more familiar with the passion of Tiger Nation.

Despite his familiarity, the Sedalia native has wasted little time reacclimating himself to his alma mater and has made stop after stop statewide with a focus on bringing fans, alumni and former players back into the program. From his opening press conference at the Reynolds Alumni Center, Anderson has stressed the importance of connecting his program to the people of the state and has used his visibility to reach as many Tiger fans as possible this offseason.

“We have such a proud tradition here, we just have to reinvigorate our fan base once again,” Anderson said. “We have to build an ownership amongst our fans, our students and our alumni for this team, because we can’t do it without them. That process takes personal investment on our end and that’s what we are doing.”

During stops in mid-Missouri (including Columbia, the Lake of the Ozarks and Jefferson City), Kansas City, St. Louis, the Bootheel and even tiny Mendon, Mo., population 168, and at speaking engagements at summer camps, Anderson has continued his goodwill crusade with the hope of making Mizzou Arena the single toughest home court venue in America.

“Going around the state is a lot of fun for me because I am living a dream,” Anderson said. “This is my school and if you are reading this, Mizzou is probably your school, too, so we need everyone’s commitment to make Mizzou Arena the most intimidating place in America to play for an incoming opponent. It’s going to take time to rebuild this program because we have a number of young guys on our roster, but having as much support as possible in Mizzou Arena goes a long way, not only toward winning on game day, but in recruiting elite talent as well.”

Anderson and his staff have done a great job, not only signing and retaining top talent, but building relationships on the recruiting front as well. The Tigers have one of the SEC’s top recruiting classes entering the program in 2014-15, and have turned their focus to the future as the summer evaluation period concludes in July.

“Recruiting the state of Missouri will always be a priority,” Anderson said. “We are a national program and when you look at our roster, you see we are able to attract Top 100 players from all parts of the country. But for me, a Missouri guy, I know how special it was to represent my home state and it will be that way once again.”

Assisting Anderson in that recruiting reinvestment is a trio of talented coaches: Tim Fuller, Brad Loos and Rob Fulford. Fuller enters his fourth season at Missouri after joining the program in 2011, while Loos was Anderson’s top assistant at Central Missouri

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University and Fulford was one of the elite prep school coaches in the country at Huntington Prep.

“I really like the makeup of our staff,” Anderson said. “We have a young, energetic group of coaches that are not only able to recruit at an elite level, but most importantly, they have passion for the players once they enter our program. We are going to be focused on skill development here. We want to get elite players and make them better. We want them to move on and help us get the next group of elite players because of the experiences they had here at Mizzou.”

Meet the Staff tim fuller

Fuller will be a familiar face on the Tiger sidelines this season as he returns for his fourth year in Columbia. Fuller came to Columbia prior to the 2011-12 season and played a critical role in Mizzou recruiting and maintaining one of the Southeastern Conference’s top recruiting classes. Both Anderson and Fuller worked tirelessly to keep the pledges of Jakeenan Gant and Namon Wright, who signed last November, and then added high school standouts D’Angelo Allen and Tramaine Isabell, along with senior transfer Keith Shamburger.

brad loos No one knows Kim Anderson and his basketball system like first-year Tiger assistant coach Brad Loos.

A native of Clarksville, Tenn., and the son of a Division I Head Coach (Dave Loos of Austin Peay), Loos brings strong ties throughout the state and a winning pedigree after helping Anderson to the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship.

While Loos was a recruiting workhorse at Central Missouri, helping the Mules add 10 new players to their title roster, one of his biggest strengths is on the court, where he can focus on individual skill development.

rob fulford

Matt Herring

The newest Tiger assistant on staff is Rob Fulford. The founder of Huntington Prep in Huntington, W. Va., Fulford attracted some of North America’s elite talent to play for his program, including 2014 NBA No. 1 selection Andrew Wiggins. Fulford’s prep school team was ranked as high as No. 1 nationally in 2013, and has been among the Top 10 nationally each year since 2011. The West Virginia native also has experience at the college level, serving as an assistant at Mountain State University, where the team led NAIA in scoring (97 PPG) and averaged 28 wins per year.

One of the most critical hires for any new coach is his athletic performance coach and Matt Herring begins his first season in Columbia. Herring spent two seasons with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA before coming to Columbia and owns three NCAA Final Fours berths and two national titles from his time directing the strength and conditioning efforts at Oklahoma State and Florida. Herring spent a good portion of his career in the collegiate game. He worked for seven seasons under Billy Donovan at Florida and was part of national championship clubs in 2006 and 2007.

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donor profile

John and Kathy

Qualy

S

aturdays at Faurot Field in Columbia are special for thousands of Mizzou football fans. With the cool and crisp Missouri fall weather at hand, loyal Tigers fans are decked out in their black and gold all across town. The upcoming 2014-15 Mizzou football season will bring seven home games to Faurot, and one couple you’re sure to see at the stadium is John and Kathy Qualy.

The Mizzou ties for the Qualy family can go head-to-head with any Tiger super fans. The Qualy family boasts five University of Missouri graduates: John is a 1970 graduate from MU’s School of Journalism, his daughter Jamie also earned a Mizzou Journalism degree (’98), son-in-law Steve is a Tigers alum, and his two brothers, Bill and Jim, also received their degrees right here in Columbia.

With such an impressive lineage, there’s little question to how much the Qualy family loves everything Mizzou.

“We have been active Tiger Scholarship Fund (TSF) donors for the past 31 years, and have been football season ticket holders for the last 33 years,” John said. “Needless to

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say, we have a significant family tradition of black and gold.”

As a University of Missouri graduate and dedicated supporter of Mizzou Athletics, John has seen his fair share of historic Tigers athletics events. After a disappointing first year in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) for the Mizzou football program, thousands of black and gold fans rejoiced after an incredible 2013 season. When the dust settled on the historic 12-2 campaign, Mizzou football had racked up an SEC East title, a trip to their first ever SEC Championship game and won the 2014 AT&T Cotton Bowl.

With his personal and family connection to Tiger Athletics members such as football head coach Gary Pinkel and Director of Athletics Mike Alden, John thoroughly enjoyed seeing Mizzou football return to glory.

“Last year, going into the season, everyone outside Columbia was really down on the football program,” John said. “The response from the football players and the whole team was so impressive. I think it’s a testimonial to the leadership, values and quality of the people involved with Mizzou football.”

“Needless to say, we have a significant family tradition of black and gold.”

— John Qualy

John and Kathy Qualy are set to begin their 34th year as Mizzou football season ticket holders. John in particular has witnessed the Tiger program transition from the Big Eight Conference, to the Big 12 Conference and now inside its new home within the SEC. With all those years of exciting wins and heartbreaking losses, there’s still one moment that John can vividly recall.

In 1973, under head coach Al Onofrio, Mizzou and Big Eight rival Nebraska were locked in to another classic battle in Columbia. The No. 2 ranked Cornhuskers were led by future NFL quarterback Dave Humm, and were neck-in-neck with the No. 7 ranked Tigers late in the ballgame.

“Humm was Nebraska’s quarterback and they’re marching down the field,” recalls Qualy. “Mizzou was up 13-12 and Nebraska was heading to the north end zone for the potential victory. One of my Sigma Chi fraternity brothers and Mizzou defensive ends at that time, Bob McRoberts, jumped up and deflected Humm’s pass to clinch Mizzou’s big upset win.”

Outside the entertaining and competitive athletics spectrum, the Qualys also have served as loyal contributors to the academic success for many student-athletes at the University of Missouri.

Formerly a managing partner with Northwestern Mutual, John recently declared his professional retirement and is looking forward to the journeys ahead.

While with Northwestern Mutual, John and many other financial representatives within the company served as consistent TSF donors.

With the aid of donors such as John and Kathy Qualy, TSF is able to provide scholarship support for Mizzou student-athletes. All contributions given to the TSF annual fund are used to cover scholarship expenses such as tuition, room, board, academic counseling, tutors and life skills programs for Tigers student-athletes.

The opportunity to donate to Mizzou programs like TSF is something the Qualys hold close to their hearts.

“It means a great deal,” John said. “It’s an opportunity that we have to support the development of younger people who have these great athletics gifts. A lot of college athletics organizations don’t focus on the growth and development of their student-athletes like Mizzou does. Not only has this support translated to success on the field, but also in the classroom. We feel really good about participating in that process.”

There’s no denying the impact that families such as the Qualys bring to Mizzou Athletics. With their unparalleled enthusiasm for programs such as Mizzou football, in addition to their generous contributions for studentathletes in need of academic support, John and Kathy Qualy will continue to wear their Mizzou black and gold with pride for years to come.

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Program Update

New Facilities Are A Program Changer for Tiger Golf

M

issouri Golf is coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history and it comes as no surprise as Head Coach Mark Leroux and his team have one of the nation’s finest practice venues to call home.

In 2007, Mizzou gained access to The Club at Old Hawthorne and the Tigers have enjoyed rapid improvement over that period, leading to the most successful seven-year stretch in school history.

Over the past seven years, Mizzou has won 18 tournament titles and qualified for postseason play four times.

In 2013-14, the inaugural season of the state-of-the-art Walsworth Family Golf Center, that stability was on full display as Mizzou finished a program-best third at the 2014 NCAA Columbia Regional and qualified for the NCAA Finals for just the ninth time in school history. Senior Emilio Cuartero and

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junior Ryan Zech each earned All-America honors for their play at the NCAA Finals, and Tiger Nation saw the importance of skill development when competing in the nation’s elite collegiate golf conference.

“We have always been a program that worked to do more with less,” Leroux said.

“We didn’t have some of the practice elements or weather advantages that other programs had, but we kept working and found ways to get it done and compete for tournament titles. When Old Hawthorne became our home course, we really grew as a program. Now, with Don Walsworth and his family’s vision and support, we are taking that next step. We can extend our recruiting radius and recruit against the top programs in America because we have the great facilities and training opportunities to go along with our academic excellence and great campus community.”

Inside the Walsworth Family Golf Center, current and incoming Tigers have year-round training facilities at their disposal. The center provides Mizzou Golf with two indoor heated hitting bays, team locker rooms, team lounges, coaching offices, a swing pattern analysis video station, a private putting green and chipping area. Adjacent to the facility is a private driving range for the team.

The facility was on display during the 2014 NCAA Columbia Regional as 14 of the country’s top golf programs competed at The Club at Old Hawthorne for the right to advance to Hutchinson, Kan., and the 2014 NCAA Finals.

“We were proud to be able to show off the Walsworth Center and the course was fantastic for some great golf,” Leroux said. “In the golf community, word spreads quickly. People wondered how we would compete with the move into the SEC and we have made back-to-back NCAA appearances and have had two more players win All-America honors.”

Over the past four years the Tigers have three All-America award winners, including two from the state of Missouri.

“Recruiting our home state will always be a priority and for the first time since we have been here, we have premier facilities and a premier course to call home,” Leroux said. “We have seen a trend of the top players in our state wanting to come represent Mizzou and two of those players, Jace (Long) and Ryan (Zech) were All-Americans for us. We have players on the PGA Tour now. We have something special building here at Mizzou; it’s certainly an exciting time.”

Now a senior, Zech will lead the way for Missouri this season after his Top 10 finish at the NCAA Championship in late May. Also back is fellow starter Wilson Sundvold, as well as SEC AllFreshman Team honoree Euan Walker and January 2014 addition, Linus Lillidahl. The Tigers also welcome in a talented recruiting class and regain the services of Jacob Fair, who redshirted in 2013-14 after making 11 starts as a true freshman in 2012-13.

“We can extend our recruiting radius and recruit against the top programs in America because we have the great facilities and training opportunities to go along with our academic excellence and great campus community.�

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faculty profile

Leigh Neier Values Athletics’ Role in Education

A

lthough she was born in Louisville, Ky., Assistant Teaching Professor Leigh Neier considers Columbia her home.

“I went to Hickman High School, completed my undergraduate degree and doctoral program at the University of Missouri,” Neier says. “When I was an undergraduate student at Mizzou, I was quite involved in the Greek community, and I certainly felt great pride for the university, but I didn’t know that I would make my residence here permanent. When the opportunity to join the faculty at the College of Education presented itself, I wholeheartedly accepted the position. I cannot picture myself anywhere else.”

A truly selfless person, Neier certainly makes the most of her time in Columbia as she not only teaches classes for the College of Education, but also volunteers her time as a member of different committees and programs. Despite her busy schedule, Neier puts her students first, making sure they get the most out of their time at Mizzou.

“It’s always my goal to make sure my students receive the very best that Mizzou has to offer. Whether encouraging them to seek leadership opportunities in the Department of Student Life or making sure they connect with their academic advisors, as a Mizzou faculty, I believe our accountability to our students

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extends far beyond the time we spend together in the classroom.”

When she isn’t working with her own students, Neier volunteers her time as an important member of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee (IAC). The purpose of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee is to advise the chancellor and to consult with the director of Intercollegiate Athletics in all matters relating to Intercollegiate Athletics at MU. Her interest in working with athletics spurred from teaching student-athletes on a daily basis.

“The opportunity to work with student-athletes in my classes is tremendous. You see our student-athletes come to class as students with not one, but two full-time jobs. The first one is to be a student and the second is that of the athlete.

They come down to sit in the front of the large lecture classes, and they want to be a part of the academic world as much as they want to be a part of the athletic world.”

Neier is passionate about learning and educating, but she also recognizes and values the positive impact that an athletics department can make on a community.

“As students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members, our collective awareness of the great things that happen every day in Intercollegiate Athletics are crucial to build pride around the Mizzou Made spirit. Whether our focus is student welfare, academics or attention to diversity and

ASSISTANT professor of EDUCATION

“As students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members, our collective awareness of the great things that happen every day in Intercollegiate Athletics are crucial to build pride around the Mizzou Made spirit. Whether our focus is student welfare, academics or attention to diversity and equity issues, we want to celebrate what we are doing really well and be transparent and actionoriented when opportunities for improvement arise.” equity issues, we want to celebrate what we are doing really well and be transparent and action-oriented when opportunities for improvement arise.”

Through her connection with IAC, Neier helped facilitate two programs, one being the Mizzou Moves initiative. Neier works with Mizzou Athletics staffers and student-athletes to bring nutrition and physical education awareness into elementary schools around Columbia.

Neier also has worked closely with Deputy Athletics Director Doug Gillin and the Tiger Scholarship Fund team to bring the RALLY Club to life. The RALLY Club, which stands for Recognizing Achievement, Learning and Leadership in our Youth, represents a unique partnership with the MU College of Education, Columbia Public Schools and Mizzou Athletics.

RALLY Club students are those who have been recognized by their teachers and school administrators for scholastic and leadership achievements. The program celebrates K-5 students who have made personal gains in their school accomplishments and who have contributed positively to the learning community as student leaders.

“The premise of the RALLY Club came from the idea to connect elementary students and their families to the Mizzou community. Many of our RALLY Club students have likely not

had access to athletic events or to the university culture as a whole. The opportunity to attend a Mizzou athletic event — let alone be recognized at halftime — has probably never even registered on their radar.”

Currently working with Cedar Ridge Elementary, Neier is gearing up for another exciting year with the RALLY program.

“The greatest part about RALLY Club is that we go beyond celebrating our student leaders during an athletic event,” Neier says. “Throughout the school year, close to 30 student-athletes spend hours each week at Cedar Ridge visiting with RALLY Club students to serve as their ‘buddies.’

Leave it to our student-athletes to hit another home run!

Whether playing with the students at recess, helping with an assignment, or eating lunch together, the value-added piece to RALLY Club is that the Cedar Ridge students have the opportunity to interact with a student-athlete.

“This year, we will further the buddy-mentor part of RALLY Club. We are interested in trying some new technologies. The game plan will be to have student-athletes send video messages to kids that teachers will be able to play on their iPads.”

As Neier’s continues her teaching and volunteering, one can only imagine what great things she has in store for her future with Mizzou and Mizzou Athletics.

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TAILGATING

Truman’s Terrace Provides New Tailgating Options For Tiger Fans

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izzou Football fans will have an extensive list of tailgating options at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field this fall as Truman’s Terrace, the all-inclusive, one-stop shop for stadium tailgating, comes on line at Memorial Stadium. The Terrace is located near the southeast corner of Memorial Stadium and gives fans the option for individual, family or large group tailgating, with none of the setup or teardown responsibilities.

Truman’s Terrace also features the added benefit of being housed within Memorial Stadium, meaning only fans with tickets to that day’s game and a pass into the Terrace can enjoy this unique tailgating experience.

“This will be a one-of-a-kind area around our stadium and a completely new tailgating experience for our fans,” Executive Associate Athletics Director Tim Hickman said. “When we began the east side stadium expansion it gave us the opportunity to reinvigorate the area that used to be the old amphitheater and this is the result.”

All-season passes to Truman’s Terrace are on sale now for $200 through the Tiger Scholarship Fund. The tailgating area opens two hours prior to kickoff and will remain open one hour after the game has finished. Fans in the Terrace will also have a private entrance into Memorial Stadium once gates open 90 minutes prior to kickoff.

Included in the season pass is an all-you-can eat buffet (including non-alcoholic beverages) and access to a private cash bar.

Other amenities inside the Terrace include live musical performances, a social lounge and a television viewing area to keep fans caught up with that day’s slate of college football action.

“When we began this process, we wanted to create an area that would be attractive to a number of fan demographics,” said Executive Associate Athletic Director Bryan Maggard. “Some fans want the tailgating experience and the social opportunities without the setup time. This area provides for that. Other fans want a place they can come in a couple hours before kickoff, grab a great catered meal, watch some games and get into the stadium for kickoff. We are still going to have our great dedicated tailgaters around Memorial Stadium, and we wouldn’t want to change that, but with Truman’s Terrace, we feel like we are providing another attractive option to soak up college football Saturday at The Zou.” There is no Tiger Scholarship Fund donation associated with a Truman’s Terrace membership and all Mizzou students, faculty/ staff and alumni are able to purchase memberships. Fans not purchasing parking passes for Tiger Football in 2014 are encouraged to

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consider Truman’s Terrace as a tailgating option near the stadium.

“Keeping this area open to as many Tiger fans as possible was one driving factor behind this concept,” Maggard said. “We want an area that enhances our game-day experience, but is fan-friendly to all Tiger fans.”

With parking at a premium around Memorial Stadium this season, Truman’s Terrace will be a valuable large-group entertainment option. Groups of 25 to 50 can be accommodated, and packages include a reserved tented tailgate space with tables, chairs and a catered meal with non-alcoholic beverages included.

Groups will also have access to the a la carte cash bars located inside the area. On-site staff will be on hand to provide all the setup and takedown needed, and group packages include tickets to the game, as well as a limited number of parking passes.

“It doesn’t get any better than Southeastern Conference football, but we haven’t been able to accommodate the large group and corporate functions near the stadium before this project,” Hickman said. “As word spreads about Tiger Terrace, we hope to see increased interest from groups and corporations in entertaining at Memorial Stadium on game days. Parking is limited and space to hold large gatherings near the stadium is virtually nonexistent, but now we have the opportunity to host multiple groups in one, all-inclusive area.”

Groups interested in purchasing tents for Saturdays are encouraged to contact Brittani Price with the Tiger Scholarship Fund.

Truman’s Terrace Sample Menu Vegetable Pasta Salad

With fresh herbs vinaigrette

Loaded Potato Salad

Cheddar cheese, smoked bacon and green onions

12 Hour Smoked Beef Brisket

Slow smoked over hickory with our signature barbecue sauce

Swiss Meats Bratwurst Sampler

Beer and cheddar brat, signature brat and jalapeno Swiss brat with sautĂŠed peppers and onions

Build your own Burger Bar

Char-grilled burgers with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheeses and plenty more

Mustard Baked Beans Roasted Corn on the Cob Assorted Cookies an Brownie Bars

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COACH Q&A

Pat Ivey

Q&A

Every year, Mizzou student-athletes showcase their talents on their respective competition floors.

Before their team’s athletics season begins however, the studentathletes work tirelessly during the offseason inside the Mizzou Athletics Training Complex (MATC) with the Mizzou Athletic Performance staff.

Associate Athletic Director of Athletic Performance Pat Ivey has played a crucial role into the MATC operations for the past 11 years at Mizzou. Dr. Ivey began his tenure in Columbia as the director of strength and conditioning, and was later promoted to the position of assistant director for athletic performance.

Recently, Tiger Row sat down with Ivey and discussed a wide array of topics. Highlights of the Q&A include recent technology advancements inside the MATC and how his staff has continued to evolve Mizzou student-athletes into better individuals.

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Tiger Row: The weight room and facilities here at the MATC have continued to develop and become more of an asset for studentathletes and coaches. What are some of the newest features that you and your Athletic Performance staff are able to take advantage of?

Pat Ivey: From a technology standpoint alone, GPS tracking is something we’re going to be implementing in the fall. This will allow our staff to track each individual athlete with a GPS monitoring device, and we can then track their contact, acceleration, deceleration, yardage traveled and speed. We also have a vision training board, which trains working on ocular muscles that surround the eye. It helps the eye to protract, retract, both left and right.

Also, on campus we have the Dynamic Athletics Research Institute (DARI) motion lab. The company’s based out of Independence, Mo. We’re in the process of building our second one. There are only three in the world right now. One in Australia, one in Kansas City, Mo., and one right here in Columbia, Mo. Then finally we have things like heart rate monitors, which help us know when our athletes are going to recover from their workouts.

TR: Discuss the transition from being a strength and conditioning coach to now working inside Athletic Performance. How is this new field continuing to grow inside collegiate and professional athletics?

PI: We don’t even call it strength and conditioning coaches. We call it athletic perfor-

mance now. We do a lot of other things like yoga, Pilates and sports science activities. We have physical therapists that come over from the Missouri Orthopedic Group that work with our athletes to make sure that they’re moving correctly. We’re also looking at results from our DARI system, and we make adjustments to our workouts based on the results we’re getting back from each individual.

TR: Sports psychology and its effectiveness continues to grow not only at Mizzou, but across the world inside athletics. How have you personally seen that aspect evolve over the years?

PI: People are going to be paying more attention to mental health. That’s something that has to be paid more attention to. Forty percent of all our incoming students on campus have had some sort of mental health experience in their past before they got to Mizzou. Student-athletes are more at risk to these potential issues because they’re risktakers. Dr. Debbie Wright is our counseling psychologist and she works with Rick Maguire (director of Sports Psychology). They spoke to the football team recently on mental health, and issues like dealing with anger, decision-making and remaining under control. Those things are something that has to be talked about now. I think Mizzou is ahead of the game in that aspect. I don’t know many schools that have sports psychologists and counseling psychologists in the building where the athletes spend most of their time training every day.

Tiger

Scholarship

Fund

Social Responsibility over 3,000 hours serving the community

Academic Integrity

Academic Progress Rate 2nd in the SEC

Competitive Excellence

J’Den Cox – 2014 National Champion, 197 lbs

www.TSF-Mizzou.com • 573-882-0704 • @mizzoutsf Fall 2014

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Coach Profile

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Jamie Sweeney Has MU Divers Flying High When current head coach Jamie Sweeney took over the Mizzou diving program midway through the 2004 season, no Tiger diver had ever received NCAA All-America honors. >>>

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ow on the brink of launching his 11th season at the helm, Sweeney has helped nine different Tigers earn that distinction, including the most decorated Mizzou diver in school history, 10-time first team All-American David Bonuchi.

Sweeney’s passion for the sport of diving was not born the conventional way. The back-to-back SEC Men’s Diving Coach of the Year did not even begin diving until his sophomore year of high school. Sweeney preferred snowboarding, an activity that required twisting, flipping and contorting his body.

Then one day in P.E. class, the Eureka High School swim coach discovered Sweeney and his buddies showing off their snowboarding tricks using the diving board.

“The swim coach came right over to us and made us try a couple things off the board for her,” Sweeney said. “By the end of class, I was doing a front two and a half tuck just messing around.

She said I needed to come out for the diving team.”

After a little prodding, Sweeney obliged. Three years later, the snowboarder-turned-diver was recruited to come to Mizzou on a diving scholarship. He excelled as a student athlete from 19992003, culminating his career with a second-place finish at the Big 12 Championships.

Sweeney felt like Columbia was home, opting to stay in the area after college to guide young divers on the club circuit and assist the Mizzou squad on a volunteer basis. Then in 2004, the coaching vacancy opened up and Sweeney pounced on the opportunity of a lifetime.

“My passion is not just for diving, it’s for Mizzou diving,” Sweeney said. “This is my home. I just don’t think the success would mean as much if it came somewhere else than the University of Missouri.”

Sweeney has built a program that has become a national force on an annual basis. He says it has been possible through the positive atmosphere that surrounds Mizzou swimming and diving and the incredible support of the athletic department.

“To train divers at the most elite level of the sport, it takes a village of people supplying the student athletes with what they need to maximize their absolute potential, and Mizzou has provided that,” Sweeney said.

Entering his second decade as a Tiger coach, Sweeney says the key to continued improvement and unparalleled success in the future is less about winning and more about positive thinking.

“Our 100-percent focus is getting everything we can out of an athlete in a positive way,” Sweeney said. “We focus on the process as opposed to getting distracted by the outcome.”

Meet Marc Burns, Mizzou’s New Cross Country Coach

H

e started off selling candy for a living, working for both Russell Stover and Fannie Mae, but something was missing. In his spare time, Marc Burns found himself at collegiate cross country meets talking about recruiting with other head coaches. Finally, his break came in the form of an opening to coach the women’s cross country team at his alma mater, Loyola University in Chicago, alongside his own former coach Gordon Thompson.

After stints at Loyola, Wichita State and Bradley, Burns is making a new home at Mizzou. Bringing with him more than 18 years of head coaching experience, he is one of the latest additions to the Mizzou family.

As the Tigers’ head cross country coach for both men and women, Burns looks to continue his tradition of success here at Mizzou. Burns has coached 80 conference champions, 74 All-Conference First Team finishers, nine NCAA Championships qualifiers and three NCAA All-Americans. How does he plan to continue that success? With consistency and communication.

“It’s important to continue to be the same person that I’ve always been,” Burns said. “I work hard and I care about the student-athletes. I communicate well with them to find out what their strengths and weaknesses are in order to help them develop. We didn’t have any secret weapons; it’s just about communicating with the kids, being consistent with their training,

cross country coach

helping them develop at the right rate, challenging them when they need to be challenged and backing off when they need it.

It’s a good focus on balance in their life between academics, athletics and them as people.”

With that strategy in place, Burns has high expectations for his team.

“The goal is to be at the top of the SEC every year. You can’t guarantee winning an SEC title every year, but what I can guarantee is that we will have a team that will compete for an SEC title every year. Every year we want to be in the mix and be in the conversation of being a team that makes it into that 31-team field at the National Championships.

Then, on a good year, we want to be that team that wins the national title.”

Burns has a strong support system in place to help reach his goals. In addition to his 54-person roster at Mizzou, Burns has a four-man roster at home. He and his wife, Alana, have four sons: Connor, Brian, Sean and Chris.

“We really are excited about moving to Columbia, and it has been awesome so far. Everybody has been incredibly welcoming and supportive of this transition.”

Mizzou Athletics is also extremely excited to welcome Burns and his family to Columbia, and to get the cross country season underway.

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athlete profile

Kaitlyn Fischer Runs With Big Expectations

K

aitlyn Fischer may have had a relatively typical introduction to the world of track & field, but the now-sophomore’s progression into one of the top young female distance runners in the NCAA has been anything but.

The Herculaneum grad began her ascent in seventh grade as a sprinter and hurdler, switching to the distance events in eighth grade only to accompany one of her best friends during practice.

“The first day I showed up we ran three miles, and I was just loving it and talking the whole time. My friend was just looking at me like I was crazy,” Fischer said.

“I just went from there and really started to like it, and kept getting better.”

After some coaxing from the high school cross country coach and some members of the team, Fischer decided to continue with her distance running career into high school. Four years, 11 MSHSAA All-State honors, and eight championship titles later she was faced with a decision once more: where to take her talents next.

“I actually had no intentions of going to Mizzou at first.

Then, during my official visit, I just loved it,” Fischer said.

“I loved the team, the campus is beautiful, all of the facilities, pretty much everything was awesome to me. It was a gut feeling; it just felt like home.”

Fischer wasted no time settling in and began to make an immediate impact on the program’s trajectory. She led the team in six of the seven meets during cross country, including at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships where she earned SEC All-Freshman Team, First Team All-SEC, and SEC Freshman of the Year honors. She continued on to earn an All-Midwest Region honor and was the sole Tiger to qualify for the NCAA Championship.

She qualified for the NCAA Championships once more during the outdoor track season, earning Second Team AllAmerican with her ninth-place finish in the 10,000-meter run, crushing the previous Missouri school record with her final time of 33:12.37.

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After leading the team to one of the best regional rankings in program history, Fischer is looking to help bring the squad to the forefront of the national stage.

Now looking to the years ahead, Fischer’s expectations for herself and her team continue to grow. After leading the team to one of the best regional rankings in program history, Fischer is looking to help bring the squad to the forefront of the national stage.

“This past year was a big learning experience, and I’m glad that I got to where I was. Now I know more, so I’m ready for this year,” Fischer said. “I just really want to make it to nationals and be All-American this year, and I really want the team to be there with me. I do think that in the next couple years we can do that, for sure, with the recruits we have coming in and all the returners. We [the team] are always joking and laughing, but we’re still pushing each other and working hard. We want to win.”

Arthur AshE Courage Award Recipient History

athlete profile

1993 Jim Valvano 1994 Steve Palermo 1995 Howard Cosell 1996 Loretta Claiborne 1997 Muhammad Ali 1998 Dean Smith 1999 Billie Jean King 2000 Dave Sanders 2001 Cathy Freeman 2002 Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett, Jeremy Glick 2003 Pat Tillman, Kevin Tillman 2004 George Weah 2005 Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, Jim MacLaren 2006 Roia Ahmad, Shamila Kohestani 2007 Trevor Ringland, David Cullen 2008 Tommie Smith, John Carlos 2009 Nelson Mandela 2010 Family of Ed Thomas 2011 Dewey Bozella 2012 Pat Summitt 2013 Robin Roberts 2014 Michael Sam

Mizzou’s Michael Sam Receives Arthur Ashe Courage Award

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izzou Football’s Michael Sam, who this past season became just the second unanimous All-American in program history, was honored in July with the prestigious Arthur Ashe Courage Award, given annually to a recipient or recipients who best exhibit courage in the face of adversity. Sam was recognized with the award as part of the ESPN network’s ESPYs award show.

Sam drew worldwide recognition this past February, when he came out publicly and detailed the decision to tell his Mizzou teammates just prior to the 2013 season.

What followed was an amazing season individually for Sam — who won the 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year award — and collectively, as the Tigers finished 12-2 overall, won the SEC Eastern Division, and finished ranked 5th in the nation. In May, Sam became the first openly gay football player to be selected in the NFL draft, when the St. Louis Rams took him in the 7th round. In September, he was signed to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad.

“This year I had a lot of experience being part of something bigger than myself,” said Sam, fighting back tears during his emotional acceptance speech. “At times, I felt like I’d been living in a massive storm, but the lessons learned — love, respect and being true to yourself — will never leave me.”

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Leadership Profile

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C

Loftin Leading the Way for Mizzou Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin owns more than 400 bow ties. For decades, his favoring a bow tie over a long tie made him visually distinct among his colleagues. But that’s just surface stuff. What really distinguishes him are his personality and accomplishments.

Growing up dirt poor in Texas, Loftin found his passion in math and science, received scholarships, became a tenured physics professor at age 33, did pioneering research that included NASA projects, and became president of Texas A&M at College Station. He began work as chancellor of the University of Missouri on Feb. 1, 2014.

In addition to his many accomplishments, Loftin, 65, is also a huge sports fan.

On the evening of Dec. 5, 2013, hours after the ceremony announcing his being named MU’s chancellor, Loftin attended the basketball game between Missouri and West Virginia at Mizzou Arena. He plans to be a regular at Tiger football and basketball games this fall.

In September, his book with Rusty Brown will be released: “The 100-Year Decision,” which explains how his alma mater and former employer Texas A&M joined the Southeastern Conference. Mizzou and A&M both joined the SEC in 2012.

Regarding MU in the SEC, Loftin says it has benefited the university.

Richard Bowen Loftin was born June 29, 1949, in Hearne and grew up in Navasota, both pinprick farm communities in eastern Texas. As a teenager, he was a reader and a ranch hand who had a vague notion of becoming a college professor. He received two scholarships from Texas A&M, 20 miles north of Navasota. Graduating in three years, Loftin earned his physics degree from A&M in 1970.

He received his master’s in 1973 and doctorate in 1975 from Rice University in Houston. By fall 1977, Loftin was an assistant professor at the University of Houston– Downtown. He loved teaching. “I really enjoyed the fact that you could see a light bulb come on, and a student would make [an intellectual] leap,” he says.

By the late 1990s, Loftin was juggling a host of teaching, research and administrative duties. At one point, he made a decision to take on more administrative tasks; he could

help more students by managing and leading, he reasoned.

Loftin became chair of Houston’s computer science department and director of the Virtual Environments Research Institute. In 2000, he joined Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., where along with teaching he directed the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center.

Then his alma mater called. In May 2005, Loftin became the chief executive officer of Texas A&M’s branch campus in Galveston. He brought stable funding and increased research to Galveston, says Mike McKinney, chancellor of the Texas A&M University System from 2006 to 2011. When a hurricane struck Galveston in 2008, Loftin led the campus evacuation, semester-long relocation and reconstruction. “[Loftin] was a tremendous leader and so humble during this time,” McKinney says. “He does a whole bunch of things and gives others the credit.”

He was named interim A&M president June 15, 2009. Eight months later, he became the institution’s president.

In summer 2013, Loftin announced his resignation as A&M president. He wanted to return to teaching and research, or so he thought.

An executive search firm hired by the University of Missouri System to help find the successor to Brady J. Deaton contacted him. Loftin was intrigued, seeing an opportunity to affect the lives of thousands of students at an institution he respected rather than as an A&M professor teaching a few dozen students in a lab.

On Dec. 5, 2013, at his announcement ceremony, Loftin spoke of his parents, whom he considers role models. Throughout life he has tried to live by their values. He explained how they mirror MU’s core ideals of respect, responsibility, discovery and excellence.

“You have a lot to be proud of at Mizzou,” he told the hundreds gathered at the Reynolds Alumni Center’s Great Room. “It gives me great comfort that I match you and you match me. Karin and I look forward to merging here as your family.”

The rest of the day was spent meeting administrators and getting acclimated to new surroundings. That evening, he was cheering for the Missouri Tigers.

“Loftin has stated that the move to the Southeastern Conference was about visibility, stability and increased resources for both Mizzou and Texas A&M.”

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Baseball Rewind

50 Years Ago ...

The Boys Are Back in Town

E

veryone always remembers the first. You remember your child’s first words and their first steps. You remember your first car. But sometimes, the only things some people remember more than their notable firsts are historic moments in sports history. Last spring for Mizzou baseball, it was all about remembering a notable sporting first for the program and the school.

In 1954, a group of 19 young men became the first National Champions at Mizzou after winning the 1954 College World Series with a 4-1 win over Rollins College. Led by legendary coach John ‘Hi’ Simmons, the Tigers put together a 22-4 record, winning six of their seven games at the College World Series to claim the national title. Last spring, in

a May 3 game against Vanderbilt, head coach Tim Jamieson, his staff and players welcomed back the 1954 team to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the program’s only National Championship.

Decked out in throwback Nike-edition uniforms that mirrored those of the mid-1950s, Jamieson and his team honored the 1954 team before the game by presenting each member with a customized jersey. In all, seven members — Lloyd D. Elmore, Emil Kammer, Lee R. Wynn, Albert W. Beckmann, Edward Cook, James Doerr and Jack Gabler — returned to Mizzou for the ceremony. They also held a social after the game and caught up with many of the current coaches and staff, an experience that was reveled in by all the Tigers on the roster.

1954 Fun Facts Mizzou finished the year 22-4, winning its last 11 regular season games before winning six of seven College World Series competitions.

Mizzou defeated Rollins College, 4-1, in the National Championship game and also defeated Lafayette, UMass, Oklahoma A&M and Michigan State at the weeklong affair.

Jerry Schoonmaker earned First Team All-America honors for the Tigers after hitting .425 with an NCAA-best six homers and 36 RBI. He scored 30 runs and tallied four doubles and six steals as well.

As a team, Mizzou boasted a .311 batting average in 1954, and finished the year with a 2.30 staff ERA. Schoonmaker, Emil Kammer and Bob Musgrave were all selected to the All-District V Team that season.

Kammer led Mizzou with a 1.68 ERA in 48.1 innings pitched, allowing just nine earned runs in nine appearances. He was 6-1 on the season.

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