Oct. 8, 2000

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THIS WEEK'S GAME AT A GLANCE

KICKOFF: 1:00 p.m. CST
SITE: Columbia, Mo., Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field (68,349), Natural Grass
RADIO: Tiger Network (Mike Kelly/John Kadlec/Chris Gervino), on nearly 60 stations, and the internet at www.mutigers.com. Also available by calling Teamline at 1-800-846-4700, ext. 5755.
TV: none
RANKINGS: Neither is team is currently ranked

SERIES RECORD: Missouri leads 50-49-9

HEAD COACHES: Missouri - Larry Smith, 32-41-1 at MU (7th season), 142-121-7 overall (24th season). Kansas - Terry Allen, 20-21 at KU (4th season), 91-49 overall (12th season)

TICKETS: Contact the MU ticket office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS

MISSOURI HOSTS KANSAS ON HOMECOMING For the first time in 40 years, the Missouri Tigers (2-3, 1-1) will take on archrival Kansas (2-3, 0-2) on Homecoming at Ol' Mizzou. Missouri hopes to keep the momentum going after a solid performance at Nebraska and a 24-10 victory last week against Oklahoma State. The Tigers will look to even their record at 3-3 before embarking on two straight road games at Texas and Iowa State. Kansas enters Saturday's contest after dropping two straight. Oklahoma defeated the Jayhawks 34-16 before falling 52-13 at home against intrastate rival Kansas State last weekend.

THE MISSOURI-KANSAS SERIES The Tigers and Jayhawks renew the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi River this Saturday at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field in Columbia. Missouri owns a 50-49-9 advantage in the all-time series. The Tigers have won the last two meetings in Columbia while the Jayhawks have claimed the last two games played in Lawrence. Missouri will be out for revenge this week after being embarrassed in Lawrence last season, 21-0. The Tigers managed just 44 yards on the ground and 173 through the air against Kansas last season while KU racked up 169 yards on the ground and threw for 135. Kansas tailback Moran Norris rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback Dylen Smith connected with wide receiver Harrison Hill five times for 122 yards and a 62-yard touchdown. The last time the two schools met in Columbia, Missouri All-American tailback Devin West enjoyed the best rushing day in school history with 319 yards on 33 carries. West accounted for 333 yards by himself on the day as the Tigers defeated the Jayhawks 44-23.

MISSOURI ON HOMECOMING The Missouri Tigers have an overall record of 50-33-5 on Homecoming. The Tigers have won three of their last four Homecoming games and had won three straight until Iowa State knocked off Mizzou 24-21 last season. Missouri's most common Homecoming opponent has been Kansas, even though the two schools have not met on Missouri's Homecoming since 1960. The Jayhawks won that game 23-7. The Tigers are 17-6-2 all-time against Kansas on Homecoming.

HOMECOMING GOT ITS START AT OL' MIZZOU Legend says that the Homecoming tradition got its start at the University of Missouri in 1911, thanks to the vision and efforts of Chester L. Brewer, MU's Director of Athletics. Although Illinois staged a similar celebration in 1910, Missouri certainly was one of the first to hold a homecoming football game. That year, the Missouri-Kansas game was to be played on a college campus for the first time. Previously, the game had been played in either Kansas City or St. Joseph, and, Missouri trailed in the series by a 12-5-3 count. Brewer wanted to add some spice to the season-ending game in Columbia, so he issued a plea to Mizzou alumni and especially to former Tiger football players to "Come Home" for the game. They did, with a record crowd of 9,000 overflowing Rollins Field. With four minutes to play, and MU trailing by three, Tiger captain Glen Shuck booted a tying field goal from a difficult angle. Then, little Billy Blees caught a rampaging KU fullback in the open field in the final seconds to preserve the tie, and was carried off the field. Hence, "Homecoming" was born.

SCOUTING KANSAS The Jayhawks enter Columbia in pursuit of their first Big 12 Conference victory of the season. Kansas has dropped its first two conference games to Oklahoma (34-16) and Kansas State (52-13). Like Missouri, KU is anxious to get its running game going. The Jayhawks are averaging 143.6 yards per game (60th in the nation) while Missouri is 61st in the country with 142.8 rushing yards per contest. Kansas will look to senior running backs David Winbush (295 yards, 59.0 pg.) and Moran Norris (252 yards, 50.4 pg.). Senior quarterback Dylen Smith heads up the KU offense. Smith can also run the ball, averaging 25.4 yards per game. He has struggled throwing the football (54-for-126) with a 43 percent completion percentage. Smith's main target is junior Harrison Hill, who caught 8 passes for 114 yards against Kansas State last week. The Jayhawk defense is allowing 151 rushing yards per game, but what stands out is their pass defense. Kansas enters Saturday's game as the 17th best pass defense in the country (171.2 yards per game). Junior Quincy Roe has already intercepted three passes this season.

MIZZOU SCHEDULE RANKED 11th IN THE COUNTRY According to the latest Sagarin Ratings, the Missouri Tigers are ranked No. 54 nationally with a rating of 73.45. Missouri's schedule is ranked as the 11th toughest in the country. Following the Nebraska game, Mizzou's schedule was ranked fourth in the country after playing three straight nationally-ranked opponents (Clemson, Michigan State and Nebraska).

BIG 12 CONFERENCE RANKINGS ACCORDING TO SAGARIN RATINGS
(Ranking, School, Rating, Strength of Schedule)

2.	Nebraska	96.91	23
3.	Kansas State	96.70	111
7.	Oklahoma	92.87	104
27.	Iowa State	79.81	31
36.	Texas A&M	77.91	60
40.	Colorado	76.92	1
46.	Texas	75.83	87
54.	MISSOURI	73.45	11
62.	Texas Tech	71.33	125
85.	Oklahoma State	64.22	61
95.	Kansas	61.23	53
96.	Baylor	60.92	66

EYE OF THE TIGER Clearly, the toughest part of the Missouri schedule is over. The Tigers returned home and knocked off Oklahoma State, 24-10 last Saturday and face archrival Kansas this week in a game that can bring the Tigers back to .500. When looking ahead, the Mizzou schedule has a number of "incentive" games. This week, the Tigers will be out to avenge a 21-0 defeat at Kansas last season. Two of Missouri's other remaining opponents, Iowa State and Colorado, came away with close wins over the Tigers in 1999. The Cyclones defeated Missouri 24-21, spoiling the Tigers' homecoming, and Colorado escaped at home with a 46-39 overtime victory.

MISSOURI HEAD COACH LARRY SMITH Larry Smith is in his seventh season at Missouri (24th overall) He has a record of 32-41-1 at Missouri. He became Mizzou's 30th head football coach on Dec. 15, 1993. With 18 years as a head coach in NCAA Division I before coming to MU, Smith was the most experienced coach ever hired by a Big Eight Conference school. He has a 24-year career record of 142-121-7, and coached previously at Tulane (18-27, 1976-79), Arizona (48-28-3, 1980-86), and Southern California (44-25-3, 1987-92). He was out of coaching in 1993. Smith is one of only two active coaches who have taken four schools to bowl games, along with Lou Holtz (South Carolina) and one of only four who've ever done it (Earle Bruce and Bill Mallory). Smith ranks 11th among active coaches in career victories. A native of Van Wert, Ohio, Smith is a 1962 graduate of Bowling Green State University. He served as a collegiate assistant coach at Miami (Ohio), Michigan and Arizona before beginning his head coaching career.

WINNINGEST ACTIVE COACHES

COACH, SCHOOL	WON
1.	Joe Paterno, PennState	319
2. 	Bobby Bowden, Florida State	307
3.	LaVell Edwards, BYU	254
4. 	Lou Holtz, South Carolina	221
5.	Don Nehlen, West Virginia	198
6.	John Cooper, Ohio State	189
7.	George Welch, Virginia	186
8.	Jackie Sherrill, Mississippi State	168
9.	Dick Tomey, Arizona	157
10.	Ken Hatfield, Rice	145
11.	LARRY SMITH, MISSOURI	142

THREE NEW OFFENSIVE COACHES AT MISSOURI Much was made in the preseason about Missouri's new offensive system. The Tigers have three new offensive coaches in 2000 that have opened up the Missouri offense. Co-offensive coordinator Bill Cubit and offensive line coach Sam Pittman coached at Western Michigan University last year and led an offensive attack that was ranked 11th nationally in passing offense (311.8 yards per game) and 23rd in scoring offense (31.1 ppg). Cubit spent three seasons at Western Michigan and helped the Broncos to a top-25 ranking in passing offense all three seasons behind quarterback Tim Lester. Last season, Cubit's offense broke 26 school and conference records. In 1998, Western Michigan became just the 14th school to have a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard runner and 1,000-yard receiver. The Broncos repeated that feat last season. Pittman is no stranger to Big 12 football. Before his stint at Western Michigan, the El Reno, Okla. native spent two seasons as the offensive line coach at Oklahoma. His offensive line helped produce the nation's 18th and 34th best rushing attacks in 1997 and 1998. Missouri's third addition to the offensive coaching staff is no stranger to the Tigers. Chris Tabor, who spent the last three seasons as the offensive graduate assistant, takes over as the Tigers' running backs coach. Tabor worked mainly with the offensive line and scout teams while a graduate assistant. He spent the 1994 season coaching running backs at Hutchinson Community College under current MU Co-Offensive Coordinator Andy Hill.

JUSTIN SMITH CHALLENGING FOR BRONKO NAGURSKI AWARD In 27 games, junior defensive end Justin Smith has become one of the most dominant defensive players in MU history. Smith has recorded 222 tackles and 14 1/2 quarterback sacks, which puts him four sacks away from breaking the career record held by current New York Jets defensive tackle Rick Lyle. Smith tied Lyle and three other players for the single-season sack record last season with eight. "Smitty" has impressed national audiences the last month against No. 8 Clemson, No. 25 Michigan State and No. 1 Nebraska. Smith chalked up 13 tackles (11 solo) against the high-powered Clemson Tigers in Death Valley. Against Michigan State, Smith had freshman quarterback Jeff Smoker seeing No. 96 in his sleep. Smith hit Smoker four times, forced him to fumble it once and batted down a pass that he almost picked off. Smith also had a quarterback sack on Smoker that was called back for a penalty. Against No. 1 Nebraska, Smith was at it again. He racked up seven tackles, three for loss, and sacked quarterback Eric Crouch twice. Smith also got a number of licks in on Crouch on option plays. On the season, "Smitty" is Missouri's second-leading tackler with 44. Ten of those tackles are for 55 yards in losses. Smith, who is playing at 270 pounds this season, bench presses and power cleans 500 pounds. He possesses amazing quickness with 4.5 speed and has a vertical leap of 30.5 inches. The accolades have begun to mount for the Holts Summit, Mo. native. As a freshman, Smith was tabbed the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and was named first team All-Big 12 last season. Already in 2000, "Smitty" has earned preseason first team All-America honors from Playboy, College Football News, and Football News. Athlon and The Sporting News have chosen Smith to the second team. "Smitty" was featured in the Aug. 21 issue of ESPN The Magazine in an article by Gene Wojciechowski. Off the field, Smith was a second team District VII GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American as well as a first team Academic All-Big 12 selection.

TIGERS TURN TO THE OUTLAW Darius Outlaw is officially 1-0 as the starting quarterback of the Missouri Tigers. The 6-4, 190-pound reshirt freshman led Mizzou to a 24-10 win over Oklahoma State last Saturday. It was Outlaw's first career start after replacing the injured Kirk Farmer. Outlaw passed for 191 yards (14-for-27) and threw a five-yard touchdown pass to freshman Tay Jackson. He also rushed for his first career touchdown, a 3-yard scamper that put Missouri on the board 7-0 in the first quarter. The Powder Springs, Ga. native, who sat out last season as a partial qualifier, saw limited time against Western Illinois and Clemson before being forced into the game at Nebraska mid-way through the third quarter. In that game, Outlaw went 5-for-11 passing a rushed for 29 yards including a 27-yard scramble.

BAD BREAK FOR FARMER Quarterback Kirk Farmer enjoyed the best game of his career despite a 46-39 overtime loss at Colorado in game five in 1999. He threw for a career-high 182 yards, rushed for 31 yards, including a gutsy 21-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter. The following week, Farmer broke his leg along the visiting sideline in the second quarter against Iowa State at Faurot Field in a game the Tigers lost 24-21. In week four against Nebraska, it happened again. Farmer arrived as a big-time collegiate quarterback, putting up career-highs in passing (13-for-25, 214 yards, 1 TD), rushing (9-for-83, 1 TD) and even receiving (1-for-35) ... and then it happened again. With just over seven minutes to play in the third quarter, Farmer broke loose for a 33-yard run and then fell on his shoulder as he was tackled. He suffered a broken clavicle in his left arm and will be sidelined for at least three weeks.

GILMORE GIVES MIZZOU'S RUNNING GAME A BOOST Junior tailback Zain Gilmore finally broke through. After two 100-yard rushing games a year ago, the 6-2, 222-pound tailback had what Missouri fans hope was a breakout game against Oklahoma State last Saturday. The knock on Gilmore has been that he can't break "the big one." Against the No. 8 rushing defense in the country, Gilmore finally did, twice. The Tampa, Fla. native exploded through the OSU line and ran off a career-high 45-yard gainer in the first quarter to set up Missouri's first touchdown. He did it again in the fourth quarter as he got around the OSU defense and rumbled 48 yards en route to a career-high 169-yard rushing performance on 28 carries.

DOYLE HOPES TO PLAY AGAINST KU Sophomore linebacker Sean Doyle is hoping to play this week against Kansas. One of the leaders of the Mizzou defense, Doyle pulled a hamstring against Nebraska in the third quarter and sat out last week against Oklahoma State. Whether Doyle plays this week or not, bragging rights will be on the line in the Doyle household. His older brother, Chris, is an inside linebacker for Kansas. Their father, Mickey, was a standout linebacker in 1968 at Kansas and was part of the `68 KU Orange Bowl team.

HEART OF A SENIOR Senior nose tackle Pat Mingucci earned his fifth year of football back. A partial qualifier in 1996, the Jefferson City native did what he had to in the classroom to earn his fifth year of eligibility. Now, Mingucci is getting it done on the gridiron. While Texas' Casey Hampton is getting all of the attention, Mingucci's performance this season has been outstanding. He has 25 tackles from his nose position and four for loss. He has played his best games against the top running backs. Michigan State's T.J. Duckett got most of his yards running over the tackles instead of going up the middle against Mingucci. Nebraska's Dan Alexander had 13 carries for 34 yards, mainly because of the play of Mingucci. He racked up a career-high 12 tackles against the Huskers. Mingucci is the only Missouri player to be named to the "Champions Club" all five weeks.

HAMMER-TIME Junior place-kicker Brad Hammerich is hoping to get plenty of opportunites to kick the football this season. Hammerich led the Tigers in scoring last season with 52 points, a number surely Mizzou hopes to see increase in 2000. When breaking down Hammerich's numbers from a year ago, it is easy tell why Missouri feels that he is one of the best in the conference. Despite missing his first PAT of his career against Clemson, Hammerich is 39-for-40 in his career. He is 13-for-20 in field goal attempts - 7-of-8 from inside 40 yards, 6-for-10 from 40 to 49 yards and 0-for-2 from beyond 50 yards. Hammerich pushed a 50-yard attempt against Michigan State about two-feet left and had the distance.

ROBINSON ON THE "BUTKUS LIST" Mizzou linebacker Jamonte Robinson is one of 70 players on the "Butkus Watch List." In three of Missouri's five games, Robinson has recorded double-figures in tackles. He has also been a key component on Mizzou's special teams. Robinson leads the Tigers with 49 tackles on the season and is 16 tackles shy of breaking into Missouri's all-time top-15.

12-GAGE IS A LETHAL WEAPON Yes, he wears No. 12 and his last name is Gage. What a perfect nickname for a guy who is as deadly as the real thing. Sophomore Justin Gage has become the Tigers "big gun" in 2000. After being moved to wide receiver this past spring, Gage is the man. At 6-5, 200 pounds, Gage has made a habit of jumping over shorter defenders and making fabulous catches. He caught a 35-yarder against Michigan State and a 25-yarder against Nebraska. Speaking of Nebraska, Gage torched the Huskers defense with five catches for 125 yards and a 48-yard touchdown reception. Gage also caught a TD pass against Western Illinois in Mizzou's opener. He had a career-high six catches last week against Oklahoma State. Gage, who played three games at quarterback last season as a freshman, still has a cannon for an arm. Against Michigan State, he hooked up with John Dausman on a double-pass for a 70-yard bomb, the longest pass play at Mizzou in six years. Gage's arm was used again against Nebraska when he caught a screen pass from Kirk Farmer and proceeded to throw it back to Farmer for a 35-yard gain. By the way, did we mention Gage is also a back-up post player on Quin Snyder's Missouri basketball team? While Gage is taller than his defensive back opponents on the gridiron, he spent last winter guarding guys four and five inches taller than he is such as NBA first round draft picks Marcus Fizer and Chris Mihm.

B

LAKLEY HOPES TO BE BIG 12's BEST TIGHT END Junior tight end Dwayne Blakley is off to another fine start for Missouri. He has 13 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown in five games this season. Blakley has now grabbed 40 receptions in his career for 468 yards and eight touchdowns. Blakley looks to be in line to go down as one of MU's great tight ends of all-time. NFL Hall-of-Famer Kellen Winslow was an All-American for Ol' Mizzou in 1978. That season, Winslow caught 28 passes for 479 yards and six touchdowns. In 1993, A.J. Ofodile set a single-season record for tight ends with 55 catches for 589 yards and four touchdowns.

HAYES AND GLAUBERMAN DIRECTING YOUNG OFFENSIVE LINE Despite some of the problems that Missouri has had putting points on the board, the part of the offense that has played extremely well has been the left side of the offensive line. Kansas City natives Mike Hayes (Oak Park) and Joe Glauberman (Overland Park) have played "winning football" in each of the first five games of the season. Hayes and Glauberman have been selected to the Missouri "Champions Club" all four out of five weeks. Hayes, a 292-pound junior, is the leader of the offensive line. His play so far this season is of no surprise and will look to warrant All-Conference awards. Glauberman, a 279-pound senior, replaced junior Aaron Crittendon in the lineup last spring when Crittendon had shoulder surgery. Glauberman put on over 30 pounds this summer and has not allowed Crittendon to have his starting job back.

GILPIN QUIETS HIS CRITICS After a tough 1999 season, the Missouri punting game has rounded into form in 2000. Junior punter Jared Gilpin is posting impressive numbers, particularly in the last two games. Gilpin is averaging 40.9 yards per punt so far this season, good for 43rd in the country. For the third week in a row, he launched a 50-yard punt (52 yards) and put two inside the 20-yard line. Against Michigan State, he booted three punts of over 50 yards (53, 55, 53) and boomed another 55 yarder against Nebraska. More important than Gilpin's distance has been his punt placement. In 33 attempts, he has placed 11 punts inside the opponents 20 yard-line. Compare that to last year when Gilpin put 10 inside the 20 for the entire year.

6-8 GAVINS IS MIZZOU'S TALLEST PLAYER OF ALL-TIME Missouri has never had a player stand 6-foot-8, especially at defensive tackle. Junior Michael Gavins has used his size to the best of his ability so far this season. Against Western Illinois, Gavins blocked an extra point with his chest. Last week against Oklahoma State, the Miami, Fla. native enjoyed the biggest quarter of football of his career. In the fourth quarter, Gavins deflected a pass up in the air and caught it for an interception and rumbled five yards to set Mizzou's third touchdown of the day. On the very next series, Gavins got his big paw up in the air again and batted down another OSU pass attempt.

DUNCAN PICKS TWO AGAINST THE COWBOYS Sophomore Antoine Duncan, who has battled a knee injury for over a year now, is finally making things happen for the Tigers at cornerback. The native of Denison, Texas provided a huge second half spark for Missouri last week against Oklahoma State by intercepting two passes in the third quarter, the first two interceptions of his career. Duncan, who stands only 5-10, has been solid against the run as well. He may have been a little too good against Michigan State when he layed a big hit on 252-pound running back T.J. Duckett. Duncan got the worst of the blow, suffering a concussion that kept him out of practice for three days.

SPENCER GIVES TIGERS A PUNT RETURN THREAT Junior Eric Spencer returned two punts for over 20 yards on Saturday. His return of 28 yards in the first quarter was the longest return of any Mizzou punt returner since Maurice Benson returned a punt 31 yards in 1991.

WHITTINGTON PLAYING BIG ROLE Like his brother Bernard who is in his seventh season with the Indianapolis Colts, Missouri's Daryl Whittington is using his senior season to blossom into a fine football player and potential NFL prospect. Whittington spent his first four years at Mizzou struggling to add weight to his 6-6 frame. Finally this off-season, Whittington added close to 15 pounds and is playing at nearly 260 pounds. The atheltic St. Louis native is splitting his time between outside linebacker at defensive end and is playing very well. He accumulated a career-high seven tackles against Clemson after recording a sack and a fumble recovery against Western Illinois. Missouri defensive coordinator Moe Ankney has been quoted as saying: "Daryl is going to make us look really dumb when he is playing on Sundays next year."

MISSOURI BLOCK PARTY In 1999, Missouri blocked six kicks, tying a single-season record set back in 1994. With three blocked kicks against Western Illinois, one would think the single-season record may be in jeopardy in 2000. The Missouri "Raiders" team, otherwise known as the punt return team, reaked havoc on the Western Illinois punting unit all night long. On the very first series, WIU botched a snap and the Tigers tackled the Leathernecks' punter at the WIU 2-yard line. Mizzou scored two plays later. The other big play by the "Raiders" unit was made by walk-on Grant Thornburg. The Palmyra, Mo. native filled in for Justin Smith and came up with a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone by Western Illinois for a safety. Missouri's other blocked punt was by Justin Gage in the second quarter. The Tigers Michael Gavins also recorded a block when we wiped out a PAT attempt by WIU. Missouri has now blocked 31 kicks since Larry Smith came to Ol' Mizzou - 15 PATs, 10 punts and six field goals.

TOAST OF PALMYRA, MO Redshirt freshman Marcus Caldwell and sophomore Grant Thornburg are the talk of Palmyra, Mo. Both walk-ons have earned significant playing time this season. Caldwell earned his first career start last week against Oklahoma State at free safety whille both Caldwell and Thornburg have provided Mizzou two very good special teams players. Caldwell racked up seven tackles against the Cowboys in his starting role while Thornburg blocked a punt against Western Illinois which led to a Missouri safety.

CURRY MOVED TO WIDE RECEIVER Sophomore Terrence Curry has been moved from cornerback to wide receiver to help add depth to MU receiving corps. The Tigers lost redshirt freshman Brandon Barnes in the Clemson game with a broken ankle and are now without John Dausman. At Kirkwood High School, Curry caught eight passes his senior season, averaging 31 yards per reception. Seven of the eight passes he caught were for touchdowns. Curry made his first start and caught his first career pass against Oklahoma State last week.

BAD BREAKS II Senior wide receiver John Dausman, who was lost for the season last year with a torn ACL, suffered another ACL tear, this time in his other knee against Nebraska. Dausman was blocking down field and got tangled up on the Missouri sideline.

EARNING PLAYING TIME In Missouri's 50-20 blowout over Western Illinois, at least 23 players saw their first action as Missouri Tigers on Faurot Field. No offense to the movie "Rudy," but the Tigers had a few Rudy's - walk-ons that have put in the time and earned a chance to play in front of 50,000 fans. Walk-ons Darren Baldwin, Jesse Belfield, Marcus Caldwell, Scott Jones, Michael Harden, Brian Heits and Grant Thornburg all saw action on Saturday. Thornburg made his presence felt by blocking a punt that led to a safety while Jones recorded his first career tackle on special teams. Thornburg, Jones and Caldwell were all named to Missouri's Champion Club this week.

TIGERS SCORE AGAINST HUNGER Again this year, Head Coach Larry Smith and the Missouri Tigers have teamed up with the Central Missouri Food Bank to stop hunger in its tracks. Interested persons can pledge money for every point the Tigers score in 2000. The proceeds help the food bank and more than 120 charities in its 29-county region providing free food to soup kitchens, shelters and food pantries. For more information, call 1-800-764-3663, or 573-474-1020. Since the program began six years ago, close to $1 million has been raised and more than 12 million meals have been provided to Missourians in need.

MISSOURI DEBUTS NEW $13.1 MILLION PRESS BOX The skyline has changed in Columbia thanks to a new $13.1 million press box that adorns Memorial Stadium. The project, which actually started before the 1999 football campaign, was designed by Ellerbe Becket. The contractor of the project was Walsh Construction while the operation was managed by the University of Missouri Construction Management. The new press box consists of six levels and stands 110 feet high, 321 feet wide. The structure consists of 35 suites, 418 Tiger Lounge seats and 147 working press positions, doubling the amount of the old press box.

TIGER TIDBITS

• * The University of Missouri has the highest student-athlete graduation rates in the Big 12 Conference.
• * The University of Missouri was rated as the nation's best education value in August, 1999 by U.S. News & World Report.
• * Quarterback Darius Outlaw's first pass attempt of his career was a 14-yard touchdown strike to tight end Brandon Ford.
• * Senior Jason Lewis has been put on scholarship by Larry Smith. Lewis, from Knob Noster, Mo., has been with the program for four years and is on track to graduate on time.
• Lewis spent three years as an inside linebacker, but was moved to fullback midway through preseason workouts to add depth to that position. With the injury to T.J. Leon, the move has proven to be a good one and Lewis will probably see some playing time at fullback as well as his special teams duties.
• * Three Missouri players will miss the 2000 season after going under season-ending operations. Junior deep-snapper Ben Davidson had surgery on his back to relieve to bulging disks that were putting pressure on a nerve. Sophomore fullback T.J. Leon broke his leg during preseason camp in Mexico, Mo. and will sit out the season. Junior quarterback Jim Dougherty is out with a torn ligament in his elbow.
• * Former Missouri Tiger Mark Alnutt (1993-95) is the new Director of Football Operations. Alnutt has served as a graduate assistant in the MU video department the last two seasons while earning a graduate degree in public administration.
• Alnutt replaces Curtis Jones who has landed a job with Nike.
• Several other former Mizzou football players are helping out the program while earning degrees. Pat Ivey, who played with Alnutt from 1993-95, is the Tigers' new Strength and Conditioning Assistant and just completed his master's this summer in health education.
• Missouri All-American Devin West is now the offensive graduate assistant for the Tigers while former offensive lineman Brad Smith is now a graduate assistant in the Tiger strength and conditioning program as he finishes out his degree.
• Former wide receiver Jamie Scholten is pursuing a master's degree while working in Missouri's Total Person Program.
• * University of Kansas Sports Information Director Doug Vance recently asked all SIDs around the country to report playes that bench press over 500 pounds. Three Missouri Tigers were included on that list: Jemarcus Joshua (580 lbs.), T.J. Leon (520 lbs.) and Justin Smith (500 lbs).

TIGERS FOR TIGERS Although there are many universities with a tiger mascot, the University of Missouri is the first to actively support a comprehensive conservation program for critically endangered wild tigers, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The Mizzou Tigers for Tigers program is a pioneering effort to raise awareness and support to ensure that there will be wild tigers for as long as there are Mizzou Tigers. For more information, contact Dr. Mary Ratnaswamy, MU School of Natural Resources at 573-882-9424 or Mike Baltz, MU Division of Biological Sciences at 573-882-4854.