The Missouri Tigers represent the football team of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. The team plays in the North Division of the Big 12 Conference and belongs and competes in the Division I of the NCAA FBS college football. The Missouri Tigers started their football career in 1890 when they played against Washington University on Thanksgiving Day in front of 3,000 spectators. They lost 28-0 to the more experienced team. It adopted the nickname ?Tigers?, which came from a civil war band armed guard name Missouri Tigers in 1864. This armed guards protected Columbia both from Confederate guerillas and the marauding Union squads led by Bill Anderson, who was then rumored to be planning on plundering the town. The football team was named after them in honor of those civil war defenders. The football stadium of the Tiger is the Faurot Field in Columbia. Its official mascot is ?Truman the Tiger?, named after Harry Truman, the Missouri-born US President. Truman the Tiger twice won the ?Best Mascot in the Nation?. The Tigers' most prominent rival are the Kansas. Todate, the team played a total of 25 bowl games and has won eight bowl games.

Championships and Important Moments:

The Missouri Tigers have 15 conference championships and 1 conference division title. Their conference championships are in 1893, 1894, 1895, 1909, 1913, 1919, 1924, 1925, 1927, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1945, 1960 and 1969. Its divisional championship is in 2007, the Big 12 Conference, with Coach Gary Pinkel leading them on. The team played a total of 25 bowl games and has won eleven of them. Missouri had 23 All-American victories. It has 11 members of the College Football Hall of Fame with Johnny Roland to be inducted this year.

Quarterbacks in the current Roster:

-- Chase Daniel ?Blaine Gabbert ? Jimmy Costelo ? Chase Patton

Missouri Tigers Recent News:

Six of the Tigers' top eight receivers from last season will be back for the 2008 season. These includes Jeremy Macklin, who set the NCAA single-season freshman record for all-purpose yards (2,776), receivers Tommy Saunders and Danario Alexander. Chase Coffman will also be playing for 2008. Playing in the offensive will be Colin Brown and guard Kurtis Gregory. Senior ends Tommy Chavis and Stryker Sulak both return for next season and so is senior tackle Ziggy Hood. Junior linebacker Sean Weatherspoon who led the defense with 130 tackles, returns after an impressive 2007. Many other players are to return for next season. And with them in the roster of the Mizzou Tigers, the Tigers expect to compete for the Big 12 Championships, a BCS bowl or maybe even for a National title.

The Missouri Tigers won their 2nd consecutive North Division Big 12 Conference title on November 15, 2008 in a game against Iowa State. This guarantees them a place in the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship. The South Division winner is still to be determined. Fans will be rocking the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on December 6, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. The conference has reserved 8,500 tickets for the University of Missouri.