For more information, contact:
The St. Louis Sports Commission
314-992-0687
dbray@stlouissports.org

SOMETHING ELSE TO BRAG ABOUT

MISSOURI AND ILLINOIS AGREE TO TAKE BORDER WAR BACK TO THE FOOTBALL FIELD

SERIES AT TRANS WORLD DOME MARKS RETURN OF DIVISION I-A FOOTBALL TO ST. LOUIS

ST. LOUIS — May 12, 2000 — Their series dates back to 1896, started in — of all places — St. Louis. In total, they’ve met only 18 times. But come August 2002, the Missouri-Illinois rivalry will be rejuvenated as it returns to its roots and brings Division I-A college football back to the Gateway City to the delight of local fans. The University of Missouri and the University of Illinois football programs committed to play a two-year series at the 66,000-seat Trans World Dome beginning in 2002. The back-to-back battle on the border will take place Saturday, Aug. 31, 2002 and Saturday, Aug. 30, 2003.

"When we go through the checklist of events St. Louis sports fans want to see, this one is right at the top," said Frank Viverito, president of the St. Louis Sports Commission. "It’s a role we’re always striving to fulfill at the Sports Commission — finding events that matter to the community and bringing decision-makers to the table to make things happen for the benefit of our sports fans and our region. We salute our friends at Missouri and Illinois for coming together to provide a great college football matchup that piques our community’s interest."

St. Louis is no stranger to historic football games. The Trans World Dome hosted the 1996 and 1998 Big 12 Conference Football Championships, which produced two dramatic upsets. And Division I-AA football has been a staple of the St. Louis sports calendar thanks to the annual Gateway Football Classic. But a regular season Division I-A game — and for that matter the Tigers — haven’t played locally since 1970.

Mizzou appeared twice that year at Busch Stadium, opening the season beating Baylor and losing to Air Force two weeks later. Illinois’ last visit to St. Louis came a year earlier, a 37-6 loss to the Tigers. The most recent matchup between the two teams took place in 1994 in Champaign. Illinois won 42-0. Missouri, however, leads the all-time series 11-7.

"We are very excited about resuming the football series with Missouri, especially with the opportunity to play the games in St. Louis at the Trans World Dome," said Illinois Director of Athletics Ron Guenther. "Both institutions obviously have tremendous alumni groups in the St. Louis area, which should allow for terrific interest around the city. A border war with the tradition that both schools have from two of the nation’s most significant conferences should provide one of the best non-conference matchups in the country."

"The opportunity to bring a border war football game to the city of St. Louis is truly exciting," said Missouri Director of Athletics Mike Alden. "When you look at the tradition of the Missouri-Illinois basketball game, we believe that this football matchup puts an exclamation point on what could become a great collegiate series."

One factor that helped pave the way for the new series was a recent decision made by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors. In January 1999, the NCAA eliminated all annual preseason exempted football games after the 2002 season. It in turn gave institutions the opportunity to schedule a 12^th game in years that had 14 Saturdays between the first permissible playing date and the last playing date in November. This will be the case in 2002 and 2003, thus allowing the two schools accustomed to seeing each other annually on the basketball court to now put bragging rights back up for grabs on the football field.

"One of the first events I attended at Illinois was the Braggin’ Rights basketball game in St. Louis and because of that I can fully appreciate the rivalry between the two schools," said Illinois Coach Ron Turner. "It’s a natural rivalry and I think fans and alumni from both schools will enjoy this opportunity to watch two very good football teams."

The two universities, the Sports Commission, and the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission (CVC) — which operates the Trans World Dome — worked together to create the 2002-2003 series. All four partners will share game marketing and game management responsibilities. The Sports Commission, CVC and Mizzou participated in the Missouri vs. Saint Louis University Bud Light Showdown held at the Dome last December.

"Whether it’s the NCAA Regionals, the Big 12 Championship, Mizzou-SLU basketball or Mizzou-Illinois football, the major college sporting events we have been able to bring to the Dome have been such a plus for our region," said Bob Bedell, CVC president and CEO. "These events are key assets when it comes to making downtown St. Louis a vibrant community. It will be wonderful to see the bowl-like atmosphere that will be created downtown and inside the Dome when the Tigers and Illini play here in two years."

Besides the SLU-Mizzou game, the Sports Commission in the last year produced the Firstar Century of Saint Louis Sports Celebration in November and in March, co-hosted the NCAA Wrestling Championships with the University of Missouri. The Commission is the local organizer for the John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Kiel Center this July.

Missouri vs. Illinois Football ticket details and kickoff times will be announced at a later date. Businesses and individuals interested in sponsorship opportunities can call the St. Louis Sports Commission at 314-992-0686.

-Visit www.stl2001finalfour.org to volunteer for the Women’s Final Four

Mizzou vs. Illinois: The Series

Tigers lead series 11-7
at Columbia: MU leads 5-1, at Champaign: Series tied 5-5, at St. Louis: Series tied 1-1