Mizzou’s administration is trying to ensure football boycott does not happen again
By Nick Cole
Published:
The University of Missouri is putting plans in place to ensure that boycotting athletics is a thing of the past on its Columbia campus.
The Tigers football team staged a two-day boycott in advance of a game against BYU last season in support of the “Concerned Student 1950” protest being held on campus.
According to a report from The Columbia Tribune, the university’s interim chancellor, Hank Foley, recently informed the state’s Joint Committee on Education that there would be a “very different’ response than the support shown by former Tigers coach Gary Pinkel during last fall.
Foley indicated there would be university rules that include sanctions, up to losing a scholarship, for not fulfilling the obligations of the scholarship, according to the report.
“There is an expectation that our student-athletes practice, play, go to class and be responsible socially,” Missouri Athletic Director Mack Rhoades said. “There is absolutely that expectation of our student-athletes.”
Rhoades said the university’s focus is on creating an environment in which the athletes do not feel the need to go to the extremes of a boycott again.
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
