On the football schedule at least, the University of Missouri is officially a member of the Southeastern Conference.
Though Mizzou does not officially join the SEC until July 1, it's included on the conference football schedule released today. Here's what it looks like for Mizzou:
- September 8 vs. Georgia. This will be the first time the Bulldogs have ever played at Farout Field in Columbia, Mo., and just the second time the two schools have ever met on the football field.
- September 15 vs. Arizona State. One of four non-conference games on the schedule
- September 22 at South Carolina. The contest against the Gamecocks is the first SEC road game for Mizzou, which has beaten South Carolina twice in bowl games
- October 16 vs. Vanderbilt. The Commodores defeated the Tigers the last time the two teams played in 1958.
- October 13 vs. Alabama. Mizzou leads the overall series against the national title contender Crimson Tide, but the Tide won the last meeting at Farout Field 38-20. This is the only game against a current member of the SEC West, which is generally considered the stronger of the two SEC divisions.
- October 27 vs. Kentucky. The Wildcats have won two of the three games they have played against the Tigers.
- November 3 at Florida. This will be the first regular season meeting between these two schools, which have faced off just once, in the 1966 Sugar Bowl. Current South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier was the quarterback for Florida at the time.
- November 10 at Tennessee. The game marks the first time the Volunteers and the Tigers have ever played each other in football.
- November 24 at Texas A&M. The two former Big 12 members are joining the SEC together - a scheduling quirk means it will be the third time in three years that the Tigers will face the Aggies in College Station. Mizzou has beaten Texas A&M five of the last six games, though Texas A&M holds a slight advantage in the overall series.
The team has yet to schedule three additional non-conference games, which will be slotted into the open dates on Sept. 1 and 29, Oct. 20, and Nov. 17. The fourth of those dates will be a bye week.
"It's good to see the schedule lined out on paper," said Mizzou head coach Gary Pinkel in a statement. "We're very pleased and honored to be joining such a successful and historically significant conference, and our program is looking forward to the challenges that we'll face."
