Missouri to face BYU next season

By the News Tribune staff

KANSAS CITY - It's been a long time coming, but the Missouri Tigers and BYU Cougars will finally meet again on the football field.

The Tigers and Cougars have met just once before, that in the 1983 Holiday Bowl, with BYU winning 21-17. The schools announced a home-and-home series Thursday, although Missouri's "home" game will actually be on the road.

The Tigers will host the Cougars at Arrowhead Stadium in the 2015 season, while the Tigers will travel to Provo, Utah, in 2020.

The game played in Kansas City will be held Nov. 14, 2015. Arrowhead Stadium, home of the NFL's Chiefs, was the site of Missouri's rivalry matchups with Kansas from 2007-11. Missouri has played 30 games in Kansas City and is 5-2 overall at Arrowhead.

Arrowhead has hosted 36 college football games, including five Big 12 Championship Games. It seats 76,416, more than Missouri's Memorial Stadium (71,168) and BYU's LaVell Edwards Stadium (63,470).

"We've been focused on bringing FBS football back to Arrowhead Stadium for some time and have investigated a number of ways to accomplish that," Chiefs president Mark Donovan said in a press release. "We want to thank both Missouri and BYU for making this possible. We know that this will be a unique opportunity for the players, coaches and fans of both institutions to experience the iconic Arrowhead atmosphere."

When Missouri moved from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference in 2012, there were concerns Kansas City fans, who were in the geographical center of the Tigers' previous conference, would be forgotten.

"Having a presence (in Kansas City) is very important to us," Missouri director of athletics Mike Alden said, "and this game underscores our commitment to doing just that, as we indicated when we moved to the Southeastern Conference."