Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2025
Mike Alden served as the University of Missouri’s Director of Athletics from 1998 to 2015, guiding Mizzou Athletics through an era of unprecedented growth and transformation. During his 17-year tenure — second in length only to legendary A.D. Don Faurot — Alden oversaw the department’s annual operating budget grow from $13.5 million to nearly $90 million. He played a pivotal role in leading Mizzou’s transition to the Southeastern Conference ahead of the 2012–13 academic year and made one of the program’s most impactful hires in football coach Gary Pinkel, who became the winningest coach in school history and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Alden’s leadership was instrumental in a wave of facility enhancements, including the construction of Mizzou Arena, Taylor Stadium, Mizzou Tennis Complex, Walsworth Family Golf Center and Tiger Performance Complex, as well as major Memorial Stadium renovations and expansion of Mizzou Athletic Training Complex. A nationally respected administrator, Alden was named the NACDA Athletic Director of the Year in 2008 and received the prestigious Homer Rice Award from the FBS Athletic Directors Association in 2024. He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. Known for developing talent, Alden mentored numerous future athletics directors, including Mizzou’s current A.D., Laird Veatch. Since stepping away from the department, Alden has remained closely connected to higher education and athletics, serving as a faculty member in MU’s College of Education and working as an athletics consultant.
