Think the Missouri State Sugar Bears dance team can call a timeout in the middle of a routine? Not. At. All. “There are no second chances when it comes to performance sports,” said Emily Dryden, the current Sugar Bears head coach. “You don’t get another try to grab a rebound, a heavy hitter doesn’t step… Read more »
News
Category: Teams/Programs
1987-2010 Missouri State University Handball Program
A program which started with very little fanfare back in 1987 has developed into one of the most nationally known, respected and feared handball teams in America today. With only six years of experience under its belt, Dr. Tommy Burnett’s MSU team captured its first National Team Championship in 1993, with the women taking first… Read more »
Missouri State University Women’s Handball Program
Back in his National Football League days with the New York Jets, Dr. Tommy Burnett and teammates played handball as a way to cross-train, given the way it enhanced hand-eye coordination, bi-lateral movement and more. So years later when he was the head of the Missouri State University Department of Physical Education, Recreation and Leisure… Read more »
Missouri State University Volleyball Program
Looking at the nearly endless banners in their home arena, it’s easy to assume it was always this way for the Missouri State University Volleyball Program. The reality, however, was that the Bears traveled there the hard way – and not just literally. In April 1970, 12 years after the program’s launch and having played… Read more »
1941-48 Missouri Valley College Football
Led by Coach Volney C. Ashford, the 1941-1948 Missouri Valley College Vikings Football teams held the record for the longest winning streak under one coach, with 41 straight victories. The MVC football winning streak started December 7, 1941 and ended on December 4, 1948. Football was halted at Valley from 1943-1945 due to World War… Read more »
1996-2005 Era Missouri Valley College Wrestling
Tucked away on a quiet little campus in the heart of mid-Missouri is one of the best-kept sports secrets in the state. Few programs on any level in any sport can boast the success of the Missouri Valley College men’s wrestling program, especially the era from 1996 to 2005. During that 10-year stretch of success,… Read more »
1969 University of Missouri Football Team
The old video footage found on YouTube will make almost anyone smile. In fact, it’s easy to wonder if quarterback Terry McMillan, receiver Mel Gray and teammates ever thought they should be charged admission for their own weekly film sessions. Talk about a fun team to watch. The 1969 Missouri Tigers football team seemed to… Read more »
1966 Missouri Tigers Sugar Bowl Champions
The grainy videos – the ones of the Mizzou Tigers’ 1966 Sugar Bowl team – are simply beautiful nostalgia archived on YouTube. See the black jerseys, gold pants and the helmets with the player’s number? And No. 16? That’s quarterback Gary Lane. Plus, one news reel shows Johnny Roland tossing a touchdown pass to Earl… Read more »
Mizzou Football Chain Crew
Back in 1957, at the start of the fall semester at the University of Missouri, the student newspaper published a brief in which the athletic department sought help for football games. Claude Menefee still remembers it. “A couple of us went down to Sparky Stalcup’s office,” Menefee said of Mizzou’s then-Athletic Director (MSHOF 1979). “They… Read more »
Monett High School Football Program
The story goes that, in 1967, a man by the name of Burl Fowler arrived to the southwest Missouri town of Monett ready to coach the high school football team. Some might have assumed he wanted a military unit. Not that the local barbershop was complaining. After all, only a buzz or burr cut was… Read more »
Mound City High School Football Program
Few teams have made an impact on their sport like the Mound City Panthers. In 1987, they started their first season of eight man football and have since created a powerhouse of a program. Their first state title came in 1999 when they defeated North Andrew. They followed that up in 2000 with a runner-up… Read more »
1978 Mount Vernon High School State Championship Football Team
Looking at the old black-and-white team photo, it’s easy to be left in awe of the 1978 Mount Vernon football team. See the guy on the front row wearing No. 60? That’s Michele McGehee, recruited by none other than coach Lou Holtz and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Look a bit to the left and wearing No.… Read more »
Mount Vernon High School Girls Golf Era 1999-2015
In the late 1990s, with their daughter about to enter high school, Steve and Shelly Owens realized they needed to solve an issue. At the time, a girls golf team wasn’t offered at Mount Vernon High School, and so they took their request to the school board. “Our daughter wanted to play school golf and… Read more »
1952, 1953 MSU Bears NAIA basketball champions
To hear the old-timers tell it now, it sounds almost too good to be true. And former standout guard Bill Thomas says as much. He’s speaking of the then-Southwest Missouri State Bears, who won the 1952 and 1953 NAIA national championships in men’s basketball. In the ’52 national semifinals, the Bears forged a tie at… Read more »
1983 & 1984 Neosho High School Girls Cross Country State Championship Teams
For the girls who ran cross country for Neosho High School in the early 1980s, running was just a way of life. After all, their town in the far southwestern corner of the state had found its niche, with competitive running. The NEMO Track Club was affiliated with the AAU, or Amateur Athletic Union. Ramping… Read more »
New Bloomfield High School Baseball Program
The blue-collar teens from a farming community just north of the Missouri River arrived at the ballpark every day in the spring toting along their ball gloves, bats and dreams. Well, that and a collective fearless attitude because, despite representing a Class 1 school, they were often matched opposite Class 5 teams. As one former… Read more »