The Origins of MU Football: 1890

According to several sources, Mizzou’s first football season was held in 1890, though recorded games didn’t begin until 1901. The first game was “Academic School” (A&S) against a team of Engineering students held in Columbia. The second was against Washington, Missouri, and held in St. Louis. The third was against Engineers Eleven, also held in Columbia. By the end of the year, the university team had a 2-1 winning streak. Football was hoped to improve “the students mentally, morally or physically,” stated Judge John Hinton, president of the Board of Curators in archived article title “MIzzourah!” from University Archives. It is unknown if geology students attended the games, but with as popular as it was, likely so.