KTGR ESPN 100.5 FM & 1580 AM
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Can we end January with one last look back at 2023?
If we were to come up with one name for Mizzou Athletics’ Person of the Year for 2023, we could spend all day on nominations. How about our SEC Coaches of the Year, Dawn Sullivan and Eli Drinkwitz? Then there’s consensus All-American and record-breaking running back Cody Schrader. Don’t forget national champion and world champion wrestler Keegan O’Toole? There’s our core of All-American gymnasts and track and field standouts. You’ve got two SEC Scholar Athletes of the Year, Kobe Brown and Brady Cook. Then there’s the leader behind all the moving parts, Director of Athletics Desiree Reed-Francois?
Here’s another candidate: The Mizzou Fan.
There are many who can share the honor — the thousands who filled our stadiums and arenas at staggering rates over the last year and millions more who watched our games on TV. Of course, some of you never left — and we appreciate your unwavering support. Others we’ve missed the last few years but we’re thrilled to have you back. Of course, we welcome all the newcomers who just discovered the Tigers and invested their fandom in all things Mizzou. But if anyone made a statement about Mizzou’s position in the Southeastern Conference and the national stage, it was the legions of Mizzou fans who showed up in 2023.
Consider these facts and figures:
- In Dennis Gates’ first season at Mizzou, men’s basketball led the country in attendance increase with a 75.3% surge from the previous season, including seven home sellouts.
- For the second consecutive year, Mizzou football led the SEC in attendance increase in 2023 with crowd sizes up 10.4% — a year after crowds increased by 17.2% in 2022. This past fall, Memorial Stadium was at capacity for every game against a Power Five opponent with sellouts for the season’s final five games. It marked the first time Mizzou has sold out five straight games since 1980.
- This past season, volleyball’s average attendance increased 453% from 2022 levels. (Not a misprint.) In Coach Sullivan’s debut season, there were almost as many fans on hand for the home finale vs. Florida (5,452) than the entire 2022 season (5,496).
- Last spring, Mizzou set single-event attendance records for wrestling (4,819) and gymnastics (6,041).
- Both baseball and softball set weekend-series and single-season attendance records in the spring of 2023.
But there’s a new challenge for Mizzou fans: Can No. 9 Mizzou gymnastics set another home attendance record Friday night when No. 3 LSU visits Hearnes Center? In the sport of gymnastics, a packed house can influence performances both on the floor and through the air.
“Having a big crowd, honestly, it’s just more motivation to really show off what we can do and really just light the fire a little bit more,” senior Amaya Marshall said this week.
They call these “Friday Night Heights” across the SEC — a whopping six SEC teams are slotted in the top nine of the national rankings — and the stage is set Friday for a special night at Hearnes Center. The Tigers have surpassed the 197.0 threshold in two of their three meets and last week outscored No. 20 Georgia in Athens with a season-best 197.400.
“I think people are finding out more and more … typically on most SEC campuses that have gymnastics, it’s the third-highest attended event on campus per event right now,” Mizzou coach Shannon Welker said. “Not total because we only have four or five (home) events. So, a team like LSU coming in, they get 10,000-plus. When we start seeing that support from our fan base, it’s really inspiring. We know we belong, but it’s just extra incentive. Not only are our coaches and our team all bought in but when we see that the fan base is there to support us — or see or see (LSU gymnast) Olivia Dunne, whichever, I don’t care — that’s awesome for us. We respond to that at an even higher level. Everybody’s internally motivated, but it’s that little external motivation.
“It’s the same thing in other sports, right? When we pack that football stadium with 65-70,000 people, that isn’t hurting n our team. So, same thing for us. It’s just extra motivation.”
There’s another factor, too. In a sport like gymnastics where teams can’t play defense to impact their opponent, scores are measured by judges — subjective judges who can’t completely ignore the energy and atmosphere in the building. All the more reason for Mizzou’s rejuvenated fan base to pack the Hearnes on Friday.
“There is that subjective side to all officiating, especially in gymnastics,” Welker said. “I certainly think that it can have a positive impact, especially on the home team. When we got a big crowd, there’s some excitement, there is some emotion when it comes to subjectivity. And I think that certainly can assist the right Tigers with that.”
TIGERS TRENDING UP
Brian Smith’s depth
All 10 of No. 2 Mizzou’s starters were ranked in the first NCAA Coaches Poll of the season released this week. Only three other NCAA programs can say the same. Among those four programs, Mizzou is the only team with five wrestlers ranked in the top five of their respective weight classes: No. 1 Keegan O’Toole (165), No. 3 Rocky Elam (197), No. 4 Zach Elam (285), No. 4 Peyton Mocco (174) and No. 5 Brock Mauller (157). Noah Surtin (125) is one spot behind at No. 6.
Tamar Bates’ scoring
The sophomore transfer has come into his own with nine straight games in double-digits. On Saturday, he came a couple buckets shy of matching the program’s Mizzou Arena scoring record, set 18 years ago. Bates’ 36 points goes down as the most by an MU player in Mizzou Arena in a game that ended in regulation. Only 11 players in program history have scored 30 points at Mizzou Arena since the building opened 20 years ago. Coming out of Tuesday’s game, Bates ranks seventh in the SEC in scoring in conference play (19.3 points per game) fourth in field-goal percentage (57.1%) and first in free-throw shooting (95.7%). He’s only the 11th player in program history to score 30 points in Mizzou Arena.
Here are the 15 30-point games by a Missouri player in the history of Mizzou Arena, which opened to tip off the 2004-05 season.
Thomas Gardner, 40 vs. Kansas, Jan. 16, 2006*
Bates, 36 vs. Florida, Jan. 20, 20, 2024
Xavier Pinson, 36 vs. TCU, Jan. 30, 2021*
Jeremiah Tilmon, 33 vs. TCU, Jan. 30, 2021*
Jabari Brown, 33 vs. Kentucky, Feb. 1, 2014
Linas Kleiza, 33 vs. DePaul, March 15, 2005**
Pinson, 32 vs. Ole Miss, Feb. 18, 2020
Jordan Clarkson, 31 vs. Southern Illinois, Nov. 12, 2013
Marcus Denmon, 31 vs. Northwestern State, Feb. 2, 2011
Kleiza, 31 vs. Nebraska, Jan. 22, 2004
Kobe Brown, 30 vs. Kentucky, Dec. 28, 2022
D’Moi Hodge, 30 vs. SIUE, Nov. 15, 2022
K. Brown, 30 vs. Alabama, Jan. 8, 2022
J. Brown, 30 vs. Davidson, March 18, 2014**
Leo Lyons, 30 vs. Baylor, Jan. 31, 2009
Gardner, 30 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Dec. 12, 2005
* Overtime
** NIT
Dutch Delight
Here’s a name you need to know: Mara Titarsolej. The senior newcomer for Welker’s gymnastics program recorded the best uneven bars score in program history last week at Georgia, 9.975, which earned SEC event specialist of the week honors. The coaching staff tweaked Mara’s Pak salto ahead of last week’s meet — that’s what you call her release from the high bar to the low bar — and simplified her routine by removing the full twist from one bar to the next. It paid off with a historic score.
“It’s all about risk and reward in our sport,” Welker said. “Obviously we want to do the big skills and the wow skills, but we also need to get rewarded for them, too, if you’re going to take that risk. We just felt like last weekend was the time to try that out. I don’t want to say we watered it down but just changed it up a little bit to see if that paid off for us. It did — and she looked a lot more comfortable with it, too.”
Unofficially, Mara holds another record: Longest high school name in the history of Mizzou Athletics. Mara attended Stedelijke Scholengemeenschap Nijmegen in The Netherlands. Fit that on a letterman jacket! Mara spent her first three college seasons at Long Island University before joining the Tigers last year.
Ennis Rakestraw’s draft stock
We’ve got a few months to pore over NFL mock drafts, but ESPN guru Mel Kiper Jr. clearly thinks highly of the former Mizzou cornerback. In his debut 2024 mock draft, Kiper has Rakestraw going to Baltimore with the No. 31 overall pick in the first round. Rakestraw, who missed the final few games of 2023 with an injury, intercepted just one pass in four seasons at Mizzou, but as Kiper pointed out, had 24 pass breakups. The last Mizzou defensive back taken in the first round of the NFL draft? A pretty good one: Pro Football Hall of Famer Roger Wehrli to the St. Louis Cardinals at No. 19 overall in 1969.
‘MIZZOU STORYTELLERS’
Hopefully by now you’ve subscribed to the Inside Mizzou Athletics podcast so you can catch weekly episodes of “Mizzou Storytellers.” Last week, we told the story of Mizzou Director of Athletics’ Desiree Reed-Francois? Next on the guest list? You’ll have to tune in to find out. Please subscribe, like and comment and share the podcast with all your podcast-listening friends.
Every week, Nikki Barry and I will answer questions from fans about all thing Mizzou. Email us at barryn@missouri.edu and dmatter@missouri.edu with your questions.
Check out our introductory episode here:
Subscribe to Inside Mizzou Athletics wherever you listen to podcasts. Find episode with Desiree at the following links:
Amazon http://amzn.to/3Hxnzv7
Apple http://apple.co/4b7nNab
Spotify http://spoti.fi/3u22LJg
COVER BOYS
The obituaries for Sports Illustrated came fast and furious this week with recent layoff news at the one-time iconic industry titan of sports journalism. Mizzou student-athletes appeared on the cover of the weekly edition three times in the last 17 years: Chase Daniel in 2007, Daniel and teammates Jeremy Maclin and Sean Weatherspoon on the 2008 college football season preview and Michael Sam after the 2013 season.
I always thought it was bad luck to throw away copies of Sports Illustrated. Between STL & Columbia, I have untold boxes of old issues, going back to 1987. Those Thursday trips to the mailbox were the best. Sad day.
These two covers still hang on walls throughout the state. pic.twitter.com/cFE8wrRqH5
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) January 19, 2024
Daniel shared on Instagram: “Horrible to hear about all the layoffs/firings that are happening today at @sportsillustrated. It was THE standard forever when it came to sports journalism. I’ll always remember this cover…super grateful to everyone who produced it. #MIZ“
TIGER TRIVIA
Sean East II currently ranks eighth in the SEC in scoring (15.9 points per game) and ninth in assists (3.8 per game). Who is the only player in program history to rank in the SEC’s top 10 for scoring and assists in the same season since the Tigers joined the conference?
LOOKING AHEAD
Friday, January 26
No. 2 Wrestling at West Virginia, 6 p.m., ESPN+ (Morgantown, West Virginia)
No. 9 Gymnastics vs. No. 3 LSU, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network
Saturday, January 27
Men’s Basketball at South Carolina, Noon, SEC Network (Columbia, South Carolina)
Sunday, January 28
No. 2 Wrestling at No. 14 Cornell, Noon, ESPN+ (Ithaca, New York)
Women’s Basketball vs. Arkansas, 2 p.m., SEC Network+
Monday, January 29
Men’s Golf at National Invitational Tournament (Tucson, Arizona)
Tuesday, January 30
Men’s Golf at National Invitational Tournament (Tucson, Arizona)
Wednesday, January 31
Men’s Basketball vs. Arkansas, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network
Friday, February 2
Track & Field at DeLoss Dodds Invitational (Manhattan, Kansas)
Swimming & Diving, Tiger Qualifier, 10 a.m.
Tennis at Liberty, Noon (Lynchburg, Virginia)
TIGER TRIVIA
In 2013-14, Jordan Clarkson finished seventh in the SEC in both scoring (17.5) and assists per game (3.4).
