COLUMBIA - Missouri and Purdue have agreed to a two-game football series for 2017 and 2018, the schools announced Wednesday.
The series will begin Sept. 16, 2017, when the Boilermakers visit the Tigers. It will mark Purdue's first trip to Columbia since 1956.
Missouri will visit West Lafayette, Ind., on Sept. 15, 2018.
"We're pleased to add a quality opponent such as Purdue to our schedule," said executive associate athletic director Bryan Maggard, who handles oversight of football scheduling. "We feel like this is an attractive game for many reasons, and that it provides a name opponent within traveling distance that will allow our fans the chance to see a new location and follow the Tigers on the road."
Winning games has been a struggle for Purdue in recent years. The Boilermakers have gone 13-27 in Big Ten play the last five years and have had just one winning season since 2008.
Missouri last played Purdue in 1980, when the Boilermakers claimed a 28-25 win against the Tigers in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn.
The series will fulfill the Southeastern Conference's new rule that mandates member schools play at least one non-conference game against other power leagues, starting in 2016. Missouri is still looking for a power-league opponent for that season.
As of Wednesday, Missouri had two of its four non-conference slots filled for 2015 as the Tigers will host Southeast Missouri and Arkansas State.
Missouri will hold a two-year series with Wyoming starting in 2018, when the Tigers host the Cowboys on Sept. 8. Missouri will then play at Laramie, Wyo., on Aug. 31, 2019.
Missouri has moved its two-year series with Memphis to 2019 and 2020. The first game will be played on Oct. 19, 2019 in Columbia and the second game will take place on Oct. 3, 2020 in Memphis.