Ever wonder which notables of Mizzou’s past still haunt Columbia?
See for yourself.
Just in time for Halloween, University Archives has put together an online exhibit called “Spirits of Mizzou.” Visitors to the exhibit can scroll over a number or name to find out both where the famous Tigers are buried and what contributions they made to the University.
For example, Richard Henry Jesse, President of the University and namesake of Jesse Hall, rests in the cemetery. As president, Jesse helped create several new academic and athletic programs, oversaw rebuilding from the fire in 1892 that burned down Academic Hall and quadrupled the school’s budget while in office. He’s one of 18 Tigers who can be fondly remembered through the exhibit.
Tight end Chase Coffman makes a spectacular catch in the back of the end zone. Photo by Shane Epping.
The Tigers got back in the win column Saturday against Colorado—emphatically, with a 58-0 beatdown of the Buffaloes.
It was Colorado’s first shutout loss in 243 games, a span dating back to a Nov. 12, 1988, game against Nebraska. It’s Mizzou’s first shutout victory since 2004, when the Tigers dismantled Ball State 48-0. Going back to last season’s 55-10 win, the Tigers (6-2, 2-2 Big 12 Conference) have scored 108 unanswered points against Colorado (4-4, 2-2).
“It’s a fun business when you’re winning football games,” MU coach Gary Pinkel said following the game. “There’s a time when your pride is going to be hurt by how you play. [Saturday] we got that back. It was our best focused effort of the season.”
The defense held the Buffaloes to 199 total yards, by far the unit’s strongest showing this season. It limited Colorado runners, the team’s strength, to just 41 yards on the ground. Even most of the passing yards were accrued against the second stringers near the end of the game.
“It’s very hard to get back on track after losing two games,” defensive lineman Jaron Baston said. “All the ‘what-ifs’ go through your mind. We went back to basics. We came together as a family to get our pride back. We took it personal.”
The offense wasn’t exactly slouching out there, either.
Chase Coffman set an NCAA record for receptions by a tight end. With seven catches for 50 yards and a touchdown, he now has 220 receptions in his career. He has moved past Louisville’s Ivn Ruiz, who had 217 catches from 1996 to 1999.
“I’m glad I got to do it with a win so I can celebrate with my teammates,” Coffman said.
Quarterback Chase Daniel was at it again, too. He went 31-for-37 with 302 yards, five touchdowns and an interception. His 83.8 completion percentage sets a new school record, and the five touchdowns ties the school record he already owns.
“The whole week in practice, we were so much more focused,” Daniel said. “It was a business-like atmosphere. We had something to prove to ourselves.”
With the victory, the Tigers moved up in the Bowl Championship Series standings to No. 14 and are also No. 14 in the coaches and media polls. This weekend, Mizzou travels to Baylor for an untelevised 2 p.m. game against the Bears.
Near the end of the game, freshmen Laura Scott (left) and Holly Brethorst concluded that a Colorado buffalo didn’t pose the same threat as a Texas steer to a Missouri tiger. Photo by Shane Epping.
A day before MU plays Colorado for the annual homecoming game, Halloween related decorations adorn downtown businesses. A scary, unidentified man adds dimension to the pseudo-cemetery behind him where the Tigers’ opponents rest in peace.
Shown is a program from the 1896 game in which Mizzou last won at Texas. C:31/00/2; Courtesy of University Archives, University of Missouri at Columbia.
Mizzou’s streak of losing in Austin, Texas, since 1896 was kept alive by the nation’s consensus No. 1 football team this weekend. The Longhorns beat the Tigers 56-31.
In the loss, senior tight end Chase Coffman set the school’s receiving touchdown record with the 24th of his career.
“I’d give them all back for a win,” Coffman said after the game. “We just didn’t show up in the first half, and that killed us.”
As Coffman said, Mizzou was slow out of the gate. However, the Tigers rebounded in the second half to outscore Texas 28-21, giving the team hope of a rematch in the Big 12 Title Game in Kansas City.
“The great thing about it is that we’ve still got five more regular games left to play,” wide receiver/return specialist Jeremy Maclin said following the game, indicating that mindset is the one the Tigers are taking. With four of those final five games against north division foes - and with a victory against Nebraska already - the team’s destiny is still in the players’ own hands.
Mizzou (5-2, 1-2 Big 12 Conference) looks to get back on track this Saturday when the Tigers host Colorado (4-3, 1-2) in Columbia. The homecoming game against the Buffaloes is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.
During Family Weekend, Lambda Pi Eta, an honors fraternity in the Department of Communication, sponsored Pie-A-Professor, an event in which students paid $2 to throw a pie at a beloved instructor. Proceeds were donated to a scholarship book fund. Doctoral student Jeff Delbert (above) wears the evidence of a student’s keen aim.
Earlier this week a panel of experts gathered at MU’s Trulaske College of Business to discuss the nation’s financial crisis. The gist of the discussion was that nobody knows what will happen to our economy, but that Central Missouri likely won’t experience the worst of it because our employment base and housing market are both relatively stable compared with other areas of the nation. We wrote about it here.
And, now, if you missed the discussion or just want to relive the 75 or so minutes of banter, you can listen to it here, courtesy of MU’s Academic Support Center and Trulaske.
Yes, as surprising/irritating/confusing/(fill-in-the-blank) as that is, “nobody knows” is the current theme running through most discussions involving the economy and anything related to it.
Nobody knows whether or how the $700 billion rescue plan will work.
Nobody knows how it will affect the various banks, both national and local.
Nobody knows how low the stock market will go or when it will rebound.
The list goes on and on…
But a panel of experts assembled in front of a packed auditorium at MU’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business on Oct. 7, 2008, did seem pretty confident that Central Missouri, generally speaking, won’t experience anything as bad many other areas of the nation (and world) might experience.
Bruce Walker (moderator) — Lansford Professor of Leadership and Dean of the Trulaske College of Business
So why do they think we’ll be relatively OK even as things go south elsewhere in the nation?
Andrew Beverley named two reasons we could expect less fallout:
Columbia has a stable employment base. The area’s largest employers (the University and the various insurance companies) are stable and have made wise business decisions over the past several years, while other industries have run amok with business practices that have come back to haunt them.
Central Missouri doesn’t have much of a housing bubble. Yes, home sales have slowed down significantly, but housing prices have remained relatively stable. When you compare the area’s median salary with the median home sale price, mid-Missouri is an affordable area. All this is great news for buyers, who will have a large inventory to choose from (as long as they can get a mortgage), and so-so news for sellers, who may have to wait longer to snag a buyer but who might not have to come down too much on price since the homes in this area do seem to be valued fairly.
Judy Starr had some additional insight and reassurance to add: Our local banks didn’t get carried away with sub-prime loans the way many of the national banks making headlines did.
Sub-prime lending is the practice of securing loans for borrowers who don’t meet all the criteria for a conventional loan. In other words, these borrowers don’t have a high enough credit score, they might be too leveraged (that means they have too much debt in relation to the amount of capital they possess), and they might be taking out loans much larger than traditionally permitted. To make a long story short, these are extremely risky borrowers who are very likely to default on their loans. Understanding that is the key to understanding a lot of where the credit crisis is coming from.
The good news, according to Starr, is that many of our local banks didn’t sell the problem-causing sub-prime loans. Or at least, not enough of them that we’re in significant trouble.
Now, will we, in Central Missouri, feel the effects of the worldwide crisis? Sure, to some extent.
Revenge for past beatings — a distinct possibility with Mizzou’s recent football prowess — is rarely discussed by coach Gary Pinkel or any of his players. However, following the 52-17 destruction of Nebraska in Lincoln, the Tigers coach let on that his team was playing for something more.
“That wasn’t just about the 2008 football team,” Pinkel says. “It’s about 30 years of fans from around the world and a lot of former Missouri players.”
What was going on the last time Mizzou beat Nebraska in 1978? Jimmy Carter was President of the United States; “The Smurfs” made their debut on TV; the first test-tube baby was born; the musical “Grease” was released in theaters; and “Space Invaders,” the fist arcade video game, was launched.
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini was asked about the length of time between losses to Mizzou, as well as a few other talking points that had Mizzou fans buzzing after the game. Like how the 35-point loss was Nebraska’s worst home loss in 53 years. And how it was the school’s fifth-worst loss in the program’s 119-year history.
“I’m not used to losing. I’m not used to getting beat soundly. It’s my fault,” Pelini says. “Damn right, yes, I’m embarrassed. I apologize to the team. I apologize to the state of Nebraska. I apologize to everyone associated with Nebraska football.”
Quarterback Chase Daniel again led the way for the Tigers, completing 18-of-23 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns as he continues his push for the Heisman Trophy. Receiver Jeremy Maclin had five catches for 89 yards and a touchdown on a 58-yard strike from Daniel less than a minute into the game. Derrick Washington continued the assault on the ground, racking up 139 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns, and he also had two catches for 13 yards and a score. His 14.4 points per game is tied for first in the nation.
With the impressive victory, Mizzou moved up to No. 3 in the Associated Press media poll and to No. 2 in the USA Today coaches poll. It’s the highest the Tigers have ranked since defeating Kansas at Arrowhead over Thanksgiving weekend last season.
Saturday, Mizzou (5-0) faces off against fellow-unbeaten No. 17 Oklahoma State (5-0) in a primetime showdown at Faurot Field. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will air on ESPN2.
Wednesday, Oct. 8, is the deadline for registering to vote in Missouri. If you recently changed your address or you’ve never voted before, this is your chance.
StudentVote.org can walk any U.S.-citizen student through the process.
Any Boone County voter can fill out a form online, print it out and mail it in by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Missouri voters can check their registration status in other counties online.
A message from Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren
“Any student who is a citizen of the U.S. and will be 18 years old on or before Nov. 4 is eligible to register to vote in Missouri regardless of your residency status with the University.
The deadline to register to vote is 5 p.m. Oct. 8.
I strongly recommend you register now so you receive verification from my office before the deadline.
If you want to vote at a polling place in Columbia on Election Day, you must register to vote in Boone County. You will need to provide your address in Columbia/Boone County on your voter registration application. If you want to register in another Missouri county, you will have to request an absentee ballot or go to that county on Election Day to vote.
If you want to register to vote in Missouri, use our Official Voter Registration link to complete, print and sign the Missouri Voter Registration Application that can be mailed to my office or delivered to the ASUM office in the basement of Brady Commons (Room AO22).
Using this link will speed your registration processing and reduce the chance for errors on your voter registration. Although many groups are collecting voter registration forms from students, using our Web site is the safest and most accurate way for you to make sure your application is received by the deadline. You are not registered to vote until my office has received a signed application. In past elections, some forms were never returned to my office and students were not allowed to vote.
If you already have completed a voter registration application:
It is important that you go to our Web site to verify your status and update your address. It will allow you to check your voter status in Boone County and to update your address.
You must update your address if you have moved since you registered to vote. You may submit your address change online if you previously have registered to vote in Boone County.
To check your voter registration status in another Missouri county, use this link.
It is important to me, my staff and the University that you have a positive experience voting this year. Please make sure you take steps now to make that possible.”
More than 200,000 acts auditioned for “America’s Got Talent,” but only one person could win the $1 million prize and the opportunity to headline a show in Las Vegas. That person — who won by only 1/2 a percentage point of the final vote — was Mizzou alumnus Neal E. Boyd.
The first words out of his mouth after the announcement?
“I love you, Mom. I know you’re home watching, and I love you so much. I love you, Sikeston. I love you, Missouri.”
And then, before Neal was given yet another chance to sing the song that brought him fame, he got to watch a message from Placido Domingo — one of the three tenors who originally inspired him to start singing opera.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes interview with Neal from after the season finale:
And if that’s not enough, here’s a story we published on Mizzou Wire earlier this week on Associate Professor Ann Harrell, Neal’s voice teacher while at MU. It includes an audio slideshow so that you can get a sense of the work involved in learning to sing opera.
Paul Hagey and a front row audience member consider a picture by Minor White.
Basing his comment on a photo from a book by John McPhee, graduate student Paul Hagey said that the middle of nowhere rests between the Rockies and the Appalachians. Or in simpler geographic terms, where we live. Not offended, members of the audience giggled. At the first Wednesday gallery event at the Museum of Art and Archaeology, Hagey presented a history of landscape photography, with a particular focus on the Midwest and the Missouri Photo Workshop, to about 20 people. A slideshow accompanied his lecture.
Hagey traced the linear development of “photography to document” to “photography as art” to contemporary work that does both. Hagey discussed, as part of the visual continuum that makes up the landscape-photography tapestry, Carleton Watkins, Albert Bierstadt, Timothy O’Sullivan, Alfred Steiglitz, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Frank Gohlke, Terry Evans and MU professor Oliver Schuchard.
A photographer who prefers to shoot with black-and-white 35mm film, Hagey comes from an academic background that includes a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a master’s in liberal arts. At MU, he’s studying journalism and magazine writing. Asked about his attraction to photography, Hagey said, “It brings you in. It’s transcendent.” Referencing Roland Barthes, Hagey said he appreciates pictures with punctum (versus only studium) - images that “hit you inside.”
